
Book 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



MANUAL OF MENTAL AND PHYSICAL TKSTS 
Part II: Complex Processes 



[SECOND EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED] 

MANUAL OF 

MENTAL AND PHYSICAL 
TESTS 

In Two Farts 
Part II: Complex Processes 

A BOOK OF DIRECTIONS 

COMPILED WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE EXPERIMENTAL STUDY 

OF SCHOOL CHILDREN IN THE LABORATORY 

OR CLASSROOM 

BY 

GUY MONTROSE WHIPPLE, PH.D. 

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR CF EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
AUTHOR OF "a GUIDE TO HIGH SCHOOL OBSERVATION," "QUESTIONS IN 

general and educational psychology" 
"questions in school hygiene" 




BALTIMORE, U. S. A. 

WARWICK & YORK, Inc. 

1915 









Copyrig-ht, 1915 

BV 

Warwick & York. Inc. 



JUL 24 1915 



IGI.A410214 



PREFACE TO PART II 




If it be not thought bad form to preface a volume with an 
apologj^, I should like to ask the indulgence of those of my 
readers who have been so complimentary as to express to the 
publishers and to me their irritation at this delay of two years 
or more in the completion of the revised second edition of the 
Manual. The truth is, that the unexpected exhaustion of the 
V" first edition of the book found me quite unprepared to rewrite 
the text at short notice, and that the whole subject of mental 
tests had meanwhile so expanded as to present a task of no 
small magnitude to one who would seek to deal at all adequately 
with the material that had become available. 

In this volume, then, as in Part I, the text has undergone 
extensive revision and alteration. In a number of instances 
the addition of new materials, of new methods and of new re- 
sults has been sufficient to alter the complexion of the tests so 
decidedly as to amount to entirely ucav presentations of the 
topics with which they deal. The Kent-Rosanoff Test and the 
Analogies Test are introduced as totally new material. 

On the other hand, I have been compelled, reluctanth^ for 
reasons set forth in the text, to omit consideration of serial 
graded tests (Chapter XIII). This omission I hope to repair 
later on by publishing a supplementary volume dealing with 
Systems of Tests in general. To incorporate this material in 
the present volume would increase its size unduly and delay 
its appearance beyond reasonable limits of time. 

In addition to the acknowledgments for assistance made in 
the preface to Part I, my thanks are extended to Miss Margaret 
Cobb and Dr. H. O. Rugg for valuable assistance in the reading 
of proof. Other special acknowledgments I have tried to 
make in the course of the text. 

G. M. W. 

University of Illinois, April, 1915. 



^ 

c 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



Chapter VIII. Tests of Desceiption and Report 

Test 31. — Description of an Object [376 

Test 32.— Fidelity of Report : Aussage Test [38.3 

Chapter IX. Tests of Association. Learning, and Memory 

Test 33. — Uncontrolled Association — Continuous Method [410 

Test 33 A. — Uncontrolled Association — Discrete Method (Kent 

RosanofC Test) [419 

Test 34. — Controlled Association — Logical Relations [437 

Test 3.iA. — /Uialogies [455 

Test 35. — Controlled Association : Computation [460 

Test 36'.— Mirror-Drawing [485 

Test 37.— Substitution [490. 

Test 38. — Memory for Serial Impressions: 'Rote' Memory. ... [515 

Test 35.— Memory for Ideas : 'Logical' Memory [570 

Chapter X. Tests of Suggestibility 

Test 40. — Suggestion by the Size- Weight Illusion [589 

Test 41. — Suggestion by Progressive Weights [597 

Test 42. — Suggestion by Progressive Lines [601 

Test 43. — Suggestion of Line-Lengths by Personal Influence. . .[607 

Test ,^^. — Suggestion by Illusion of Warmth [611 

Chapter XL Tests of larAGiNATiON and Invention 

Test /,.5.— Inlj-Blots [619 

Test 46. — Linguistic Invention [625 

Test //7.— Word-Building [639 

Test .^S.— Ebbinghaus' Completion-Method [648 

Test 49. — Interpretation of Fables [665 

Chapter XII. Tests of Intellectual Equipment 

Test 50.— Size of Vocabulary [673 

Test 51. — Range of Information [682 

Chapter XII. 
Note on Serial Graded Tests for Developmental Diagnosis [689 



Appendix I. Formulas for Converting Measures (English and 

Metric Systems) [691 

Appendix II. List of Abbreviations [691 

Appendix III. List of Materials for Part II [693 

Index of Names [695 

Index of Subjects .' [699 



10 
10 



44 



307 
316 

323 



325 
325 
327 
329 
333 



INDEX OF FIGURES 

?IG. PAGE 

G4. The Mirror-Dra\Ying Test [488] 122 

65. The EfCect of Practise During Six Trials upon the Average 

Speed of Mirror-Drawing (From Yoakum and Calfee) . [492] 126 
60. The Effect of Long Practise upon Mirror-Drawing (From 

Starch) [493] 127 

67. Percentiles for the Substitution Index for Cincinnati Working 

Children 14 and 15 Years Old— Sheet 1 (After Woolley and 
Fischer) [510] 144 

68. Percentiles for the Substitution Index for Cincinnati Working 

Children 14 and 15 Years Old— Sheet 4 (After Woolley and 
Fischer) [51i] 145 

69. Effect of Practise Periods of Different Lengths upon Perform- 

ance in the Substitution Test (From Starch) [512] 146 

70. Jastrow's Memory Apparatus [525] 159 

71. Development of Memory for Digits (From Smedley) [543] 177 

72. Percentiles of Memory for Letter Squares, Boys (Ander- 

son) [546] 180 

73. Percentiles of Memory for Letter Squares, Girls (Ander- 

son) [547] 181 

74. Memory Capacity of 12- Year-Old Pupils, by Grades (From 

Smedley) [563] 197 

75 Size-Weight Illusion in the Feeble-Minded (Doll) [595] 229 

76. Guidi's Apparatus for the Warmth Illusion (]Modifled by 

Whipple) [016] 250 

77. Percentiles of Word Building for Boys (Anderson) [642] 276 

78. Percentiles of Word Building for Girls (Anderson) [643] 277 

79. Percentiles for Completion Test No. 4, Ages 14 to 17 Combined 

(Eraser) [660] 294 



INDEX TO TABLES 

TABLE PAGE 

50. Comparative Accuracy of Sworn and Unsworn Statements 

(Stern and Borst) [397] 31 

51. Effect of Time-InterA'al on Report (Dallenbach) [401] 35 

52. Dependence of Report on its Form (Stern and Borst) .... [402] 30 

53. Effect of Practise on Coefficients of Report (Borst) [405] 39 

54. Words Written in Tln-ee Minutes by Normal Children 

( Pyle) [413] 47 

55. AVords Uttered in Three Minutes by Epileptics (Wallin) . [414] 48 

56. Distribution of Terms in 'Uncontrolled' Association (Jastrow, 

Nevers, Calkins, Manchester) [417] 51 

57. Influences that Affect 'Uncontrolled' Series of Words or 

Drawings (Flournoy) [418] 52 

58. Average Distributions for the Kent-Rpsanoff Test (Compiled 

from Eastman, Kent, Rosanoff and Strong) [426] 60 

59. Dependence of Distribution in the Kent-Rosanoft" Test on Age 

(Isabel Rosanoff and A. J. Rosanoff) [427] 61 

60. Individual Responses of Children and Adults in the Kent- 

Rosanoff Test (Isabel Rosanoff and A. J. Rosanoff) . . . [428] 62 

61. Types of Associative Response in Normal and Feeble-Minded 

Children (Otis) [429] 63 

62. Distribution of Responses as Conditioned by Intelligence 

(Isabel Rosanoff' and A. J. Rosanoff) [432] 66 

63. Performance in the Part- Whole Test (Norsworthy) [441] 75 

64. Correct Associates Written in 60 Sec. Part-Whole Test 

(Pyle) [441] 75 

65. Performance in the Genus-Species Test (Norsworthy) ... [444] 78 

66. Correct Associates Written in 60 Sec. Genus-Species Test 

(Pyle) [444] 78 

67. Correct Associates Written in 60 Sec. Opposites Test 

(Pyle) [448] 82 

68. Correct Associates of a Possible 20. Opposites Test (Nors- 

worthy) [449] 83 

69. Correct Associates and Times. Opposites Test (Squire) .. [449] S3 

70. Errors and Times. Opposites Test (Carpenter) [449] 83 

71. Speed in Sec. for Correct Responses in the Analogies Test 

(Fraser) [458] 92 

72. Average Scores of 29 Normal and 6 Insane Subjects in the Addi- 

tion Test ( Specht and Bischoff ) [474] 108 

73. Efficiency in Addition : Five 10-Minute Periods (Schulze) . [477] 111 

74. Efficiency in Addition and Multiplication within an Hour (Bur- 

gerstein) [478] 112 

75. Additions per Pupil, with and without a Rest-Pause (Burger- 

stein-Schulze) [479] 113 

76. Efficiency in Computation within a School Session 

(Laser) [480] 114 

5 



b MANUAL OF MENTAL AND PHYSICAL TESTS 

TABLE PAGE 

77. Effect of Practise on Speed iu Mirror-Drawing. College Stu- 

dents (Whipple) [489] 123 

78. Times, in Sec, for Mirror-Drawing (Yoakum and Calfee) . [490] 124 

79. Times, in Sec./ Used in the Star Test by 36 College Girls, 16 

College Maids and 69 Bedford Reformatory Women 

( Weidensall) [495] 129 

SO. Scores in the Star Test for Three Groups of Bedford Reforma- 
tory Women (Weidensall) [495] 129 

81. Substitution Test. Number of Symbols Written. Form B. 

Group Metho.d (Whipple) [505] 139 

82. Substitution Test. Speed in Seconds. Form TJ. Individual 

Method (Whipple) [505] 139 

83. Correct Substitutions Made in 60 Sec. Digit-Sj^mbol Test 

(Pyle). ". [505] 139 

84. Correct Substitutions Made in 60 Sec. Symbol-Digit Test 

(Pyle) [506] 140 

85. Substitution Index, in Sec, Cincinnati Worliing Children 

( Woolley and Fischer) [507] 141 

86. Average Number of Substitutions Made by 37 White and 30 Ne- 

gro Girls in a Pennsylvania Reformatory (Baldwin) . . [507] 141 

87. Substitution Test. Distribution of Gains and Losses in Speed 

(Whipple) [509] 143 

88. Substitution Test. Bright and Dull Boys. Form B. Individual 

Method (Whipple) [513] 147 

89. Differences, iu Sec, Index of Substitution, Form C, between 

Bedford Hills Reformatory Women and Cincinnati Working 
Girls 14 and 15 Years Old (After Weidensall) [515] 149 

90. Use of the 'Footrule' Method in Scoring the Memory Test 

(Spearman) [527] 161 

91. Norms of Memory Span for Digits, as Conditioned by Age 

(Smedley) ! [537] 171 

92. Development of Memory for Digits (Smedley) [538] 172 

93. Dependence of Memory Span for Auditory Digits on Age 

(Jacobs) [538] 172 

94. Dependence of Memory for Auditory Digits on Age (Ebbing- 

haus) [538] 172 

95. Memory for Letter Squares, in Relation to Age and Practise 

• (Winch) [539] 173 

96. Memory for Letter Squares, Score for 10 Trials (Ander- 

son) [539] 173 

97. Memory for Concrete Words, in Relation to x\.ge and Sex 

(Pyle) [539] 173 

98. Memory for Abstract Words, in Relation to Age and Sex 

(Pyle) [540] 174 



INDEX TO TABLE < 

TABLE PAGE 

99. Average Number of Sentences Correctly Repeated (After 

Squire and Carpenter) [540] 174 

100. Memory for Pictures of Objects (After Squire and Car- 

penter) [540] 174 

101. Net Efficiency of Various Memories, in Relation to Age (Pohl- 

mann; [542] 176 

102. Distribution of Boys' Scores in Letter Squares (After Ander- 

son) [548] 182 

103. Distribution of Girls' Scores in Letter Squares (After Ander- 

son) [549] 183 

104. Percentage of Accuracy in Memory for 2-Place Numbers 

(Sclniyten) [550] 184 

105. Sex Differences in Memory Span for Digits in College Fresh- 

men (Wissler) ,...., [550] 184 

106. Memory for 9-Terni Series of Different Kinds (Lobsien) . . [553] 187 

107. Memory for Related and for Unrelated Words (Nors- 

wortby) [554] 188 

108. Dependence of Memory upon Form of Presentation (Pobl- 

mann) [556] HX) 

109. Relation of Memory for Auditory Digits and Intelligence 

(Ebbingbaus) [560] 194 

110. Relation of Memory for Digits and School Standing 

( Smedley ) [562] 196 

111. Memory Span for Digits in the Feeble-Minded (Johnson) . [564] 198 

112. Comparative Memory Capacity of Normal and Feeble-Minded 

Children (Norsworthy) [564] 198 

113. Correlations with Amalgamated Results of Immediate Memory 

Tests (After Burt) [566] 200 

114. Correlations between Memory Tests and Other Tests (After 

Wyatt) [566] 200 

115. Recall of Different Members of a 7-Term Series (Binet and 

Henri) [566] 200 

116. Marble Statue Test, Scores by Age and Sex (Pyle) [577] 211 

117. Dutch Homestead Test. Words Written and Underlined 

(Whipple) .....[577] 211 

118. Cicero Test. Distribution of 36 College Students 

(Whipple) ; [577] 211 

119. Average Percentage of Loss in Third Reproduction (Hen- 

derson) [578] 212 

120. Story of The Fire. Scores for Epileptics by Mental Age (After 

Wallin) [583] 217 

121. Force of Suggestion (Gilbert) . [593] 227 

122. Reactions of Feeble-Minded Children to the Size-Weight Illu- 

sion (Doll) . [594] 228 



8 MANUAL OF MENTx\.L AND PHYSICAL TESTS 

TABLE PAGE 

123. The Progressive- Weight Suggestion. 24 Cases (Binet) .. [600] 23-4 

124. Averages for Progressive - Weight Suggestion by Age 

(Giroud) [601] 235 

125. Percentage of 'Yields' to Contradictory Suggestion (Binet and 

Henri) [610] 244 

126. Suggestibility to Warmth. Resistance-Coil Method (Okabeand 

Whipple) [617] 251 

127. Suggestibility to Warmth as Related to Age. 187 Cases 

(Guidi) [618] 252 

128. Average Number of 'Names' Given to Ink-Blots (Kirkpat- 

rick) [624] 258 

129. Scores of Seven Adults in Developing Sentences (Sharp) . [629] 263 

130. Averages by Age and Sex, aeobmt-Test (After Anderson and 

Pyle) [644] 278 

131. Averages hy Age and Sex, aeirlp-Test (After Anderson and 

Pyle) [645] 279 

132. Completion Text No. 4. 15-Minute Limit (Termau and 

Childs) [656] 290 

133. Completion Text No. 4. 10-Minute Limit. Results for Boys 

(Fraser) [657] 291 

134. CoiTipletiou Text No. 4. 10-Minute Limit. Results for Girls 

(Fraser) [658] 292 

135. Completion Text No. 4. 15-Minute Limit. Results for 'Citizens' 

of the George Junior Republic (Whipple and Fraser) . . [663] 297 

136. Distribution by Percentages in Interpretation of Fables (Ter- 

man and Childs) [670] 304 

137. Norms for Interpretation of Four Fables (Terman and 

Childs) [671] 305 

138. Average Vocabulary in Relation to Scholastic Status (Kirk- 

patrick ) [678] 312 

139. Relation of Vocabulary to Age : Method of Terman and 

Childs [678] 312 

140. Vocabularies of 20 College Students : Terman and Childs' List 

(Whipple) [679] 313 

141. Distribution of Corrected Vocabulary Index, Seventy College 

Students (Whipple) [679] 3L3 

142. 0^'erestimation of the Vocabulary Index. Seventy College Stu- 

dents (Whipple) [680] 314 

143. Dependence of Range of Information on Academic Status 

(Whipple) [684] 318 

144. Dependence of Range of Information on Academic Status 

(Smith) [685] 319 

145. Dependence of Range of Information on Sex. (Whipple and 

Smith) [685] 319 



PART II 

COMPLEX PROCESSES 

CHAPTER VIII 

Tests op Description and Report 

The two tests which are described in this chapter have certain 
features in common which demarcate them, on the one hand 
from the tests of perception and attention of the previous chap- 
ter, and on the other hand from the memory tests of the succeed- 
ing chapter, though, in many respects, they resemble these tests. 

The essential idea in both of the present tests is to determine 
capacity, not merely to attend and observe, or to recall what has 
been observed, but to put the results of this observation into 
linguistic form. If the observer gives his account of the experi- 
ence at the time of his observation, this constitutes description ; 
if at some time subsequent to his observation, this constitutes 
report. 

It is evident that this giving of an account of an experience, 
particularly if the experience be somewhat complicated in form, 
is a more complex psj^chical process than those under discussion 
in the tests of attention and perception. This greater com- 
plexity makes the reduction of the observer's performance to 
exact quantitative terras a matter of greater difficulty, but, on 
the other hand, the activity called forth is more akin to that 
demanded in everyday life, and it is for this reason that these 
tests have been felt to possess a peculiar value, particularly in 
the study of individual differences in mental constitution and 
mental efficiency. Again, language occupies so strikingly promi- 
nent a place in our mental economy that tests which seek to 
bring out the observer's ability to cast experience into linguistic 
form are, on that account, well worth while. This is particu- 

[375] 9 



10 [376] DESCRIPTION AND REPORT 

larly the case in the second form of test, that of the report, 
which, in connection with the "ps3'Chology of testimony," has of 
late had a prominent place in psychological research. 

TEST 31 

Description of an object. — The description test first came into 
prominence through the work of Binet, who urged that the study 
of individual psychology may be best advanced by resort to the 
experimental examination of complex, rather than of simple 
mental processes, and who considered the description test of 
special value in this connection, Binet made preliminary tests 
with Henri in 1893 (3), and worked at the test later by himself 
(1, 2). His method has been followed, though not in exact de- 
tail, by LeClere (7), Sharp (9), Monroe (8), and Cohn and 
Dieffenbacher (5). 

Materials. — Cigarette. Cancelled 2-cent postage stamp. 
Lithograph, entitled "Hindoos." 

I'he cancelled stamp was used by Monroe, the cigarette by Binet. The 
lithograph is substituted for tlie different pictures that have been used by 
other investigators (Binet and Henri used Neuville's "The Last Cart- 
ridge," Binet a picture representing Fontaine's "Le Laboreur et ses En- 
fants," Miss Sharp "The Golden Wedding" and "The Interrupted Duel"), 
because of the impossibility of securing these particular pictures, or of the 
difficulty of using them under the conditions that prevailed in the original 
experiments ( Bluet's school children were well acquainted with the fable 
froju Fontaine, for example). 

If it is desired to extend the list of materials, E may employ other 
objects used by Binet (2), such as a box of matches, a peimy, a leaf, etc. 

For group tests, there should be at least one picture for every 5 ;S's, one 
cigarette for every 2 *9's, and a stamp for each S*. 

For group tests, it would be desirable to secure a set of stamps whose 
cancellation marks were approximately the same. The stamps should be 
trijnmed off in such a manner as to show the full border of the stamp and 
a narrow margin of the paper upon which it was attached. 

The lithograph is one of a series called Leutemann's Types of Nations, 
catalogued by E. Steiger & Co., New York. It may be purchased, lilce all 
other material cited in this book, of C. H. Stoelting Co., Chicago, 111, 

Method. — (1) For the picture-test, supply S with writing 
materials; place the lithograph upright before him, about 75 cm. 
distant. Instruct him : "Write a description of this picture so 
that one who had never seen it would know all about it." Allow 
10 min. 



TEST 31 : DESCRIPTION OF AN OBJECT [377] 11 

(2) For the cigarette-test, give the following instructions, 
and no others : ''I'm going to put on this table before you a 
small object. I shall leave it there under your eyes. I want you 
to write a description of it; not to draw it, but describe it in 
words. You will have about 5 min. Here is the object." If S 
is busy at the end of the allotted time, or has written but a few 
lines, the time may be slightly extended. 

(3) For the stamp-test, proceed in a similar manner, save 
that >S"s are not forbidden to draw the stamp, if they wish to. 
The instructions may run: ^'Describe this postage stamp so 
that a person who had never seen one would know all about it." 
AlloAV 10 min., or more if needed. 

Variations of Method. — The problem of assigning an appro- 
priate title to a picture or of asking appropriate questions con- 
cerning it may be regarded as a variation of the description test. 
For suggestions as to this test see below, under Notes. 

For young children, and, indeed, for older ones under many 
conditions, it is better that E should write from /S"s dictation, 
perhaps stenographically. 

Treatment of Data. — In general, the results of the descrip- 
tion test are not intended to be submitted to exact quantitative 
treatment, but are to be inspected for the purpose of forming an 
opinion of >S^'s general mental type and capacity. The papers 
may, however, be treated quantitativel}^, by (1) counting the 
number of w^ords written, or (2) counting the number of lines 
written. E may, further (3), record in general terms the readi- 
ness and ease wath which S undertakes the description, and (4) 
may rate his paper as a whole, with respect to its comparative 
merit, on a score of 10 for a satisfactory or adequate description. 
(5) The description may, perhaps, be classified also with respect 
to its general type or character, following the classification 
adopted by Binet, Le Clere, and others as explained below. (6) 
It is possible, following Cohn and Dieffenbacher, to score de- 
scriptions more formally and precisely after the manner pro- 
posed for reports (Test 32). (7) Descriptions of the postage 
stamp may also be catalogued with respect to the items men- 
tioned, as was done by Monroe. 



12 [378] DESCRIPTION AND REPORT 

Results. — (1) The description of an object is inadequate, 
because it is almost invariably simplified, i. e., a considerable 
number of its features, even important features, are unmen- 
tioned. Thus, in one of Binet's photographs, of the 22 objects or 
features that were mentioned at all, only 9.4 were mentioned, on 
the average, in each description. 

(2) This simplification or reduction in the description is the 
result of what might be termed a process of selection. Certain 
features are mentioned in practically all descriptions, others are 
mentioned only occasionally. By tabulating the number of times 
each feature is mentioned, one may discover some of the princi- 
ples which condition this selective process. Thus, in Binet's 
picture of the "Laborer," the old man is mentioned 36 times, his 

. sons 30, his bed 29, the seated woman 27, etc., until we come to 
relatively unimportant objects that may almost escape mention 
at all, e. g., a stick in the hands of one of the children — only 4 
times in 36 descriptions. When pictures are used, persons are 
more often mentioned than furniture or other details of the set- 
ting of the scene. 

Similarly, in the stamp-test, tabulation indicates, according 
to Monroe, the following order of frequenc\y of mention: (1) 
word-inscriptions, (2) color, (3) number-inscriptions, (4) por- 
trait, (5) substance, (6) form, (7) use, (8) perforated edge, (9) 
size, (10) cancellation, (11) ornamentations. The item use de- 
clines with age : all others are mentioned more frequently as 
age increases. 

(3) Dependence on sex. Monroe states that girls generally 
mention more items than boys, and "seem to surpass boys in 
their knowledge of the postage stamp." It is not clear, however, 
whether this seeming superiority is due to better observation, to 
greater industry or to greater zeal and conscientiousness. Cohn 
and Dieifenbacher similarly find the descriptions by girls more 
comprehensive than those by boys. 

(4) Dependence on age. Cohn and Diefifenbacher tested 
school children 7 to 20 years of age with a colored picture (Tuss 
in Boots'). There was no clear augmentation of the range of 
description after 10..5 years in the case of the boys. At the age 
of 8, the description is predominantly an enumeration of objects, 



TEST 31: DESCRIPTION OF AN OBJECT [379] 13 

though not a single color was mentioned by boys of that age. 
Esthetic and interpretative features are rarely noted before the 
10th year, when a reflective element is firsL apparent. Increase 
of age is characterized by an increase in organization and sys- 
tematization of the descriptions. Actual errors are relatively 
uncommon : the few that are met with (fidelity is 97.2 per cent, 
among boys, 98.7 per cent, among girls) are often verbal mis- 
takes, the remainder true errors of apprehension. 

(5) Individual differences. In 150 accounts of the photo- 
graph, Binet found no two alike. This wealth of individuality 
makes the description-test at once valuable and difficult — valu- 
able as an indication of the variety of mental constitution, diffi- 
cult as to quantitative or comparative treatment. As an extreme 
illustration, one may contrast the following descriptions of a 
postage-stamp — the first b}^ a girl of 8, the second by a boy of 16. 

(a) "The postage stamp has a picture in it. The postage stamp costs 
two cents. It says united states postage ou it. The man has hair braided 
In back of his head. The Boarder is round. It has arms on it. The shape 
is square. The color is red. The man is White. You can get these to the 
postice [post-office] for two cents. There are lines around the boarder. 
The back of the stamp is white. It has nomber 2 on each side of it. The 
man has long hair." 

(b) "comments on the accompanying U. S. of AMERICA 2 CENT POSTAGE 

STAMP. 

"I. Its meaning: The Postage stamps have glorious history. In the 
past 57 years they have been more and more useful until now they are not 
only absolutely necessary, but constitute one of the great helps in the study 
of Geography, and one of the noblest pleasures for thousands and millions 
of people ; Kings and Queens as well as children in the most miserable 
social condition. 

"2. This Postage Stamp has the red color and is now next to the one 
penny stamps of Great Britain the most extensively used stamp used in 
the world. If I am not wrong its circulation in the past and present is the 
next largest of all others. The one penny stamp, I think has the first 
place. 

"3. Its surroundings are very interesting. It is mounted on a piece of 
paper, remainder of an envelope, which fact easily indicates that it is used 

in the most cases for letter correspondence. I notice [Continues 

in this and the fourth paragraph a description of the stamp itself.] 

"5. Some particular observations. I had 500-GOO of them at home 
which my cousin had the kindness to send me. Of course they are of no 
special value, but yet they teach my little brothers the important lesson 
that such a little thing, like a stamp, will do all the necessary things for 
the transportation of a letter or other mail matter from the Atlantic to 
the Pacific. It is very interesting to me that with the inarch of civiliza- 
tion the great Postal system of the World has increased its actions more 



14 [380] DESCRIPTION AND tlEPOR'f 

and more until it is now one of the cliief functions under the sun. How 
much this single stamp has done I cannot say, but I know that some 
stamps, precisely like this, have done great service to the country." 

(6) Types. Notwithstanding this diversit}-, investigators 
have sought to classify descriptions into a limited number of 
tj'pes. Thus, Binet proposes four types — the descriptive, the 
observational, the emotional (poetic, imaginative), and the 
erudite — each present in varying shades and degrees. 

( a) The describer, or enumerator, as one might term him, merely cata- 
logs the features of the ob.iect before him, with little regard for their 
interrelations, or for the meaning of the object as a whole. 

Example : "The cigarette has the general form of a cylinder, cut at one 
end by an inclined plane where the paper is folded. It is stuffed with a 
rather dark brown tobacco. The paper is striped lengthwise. The paper 
is somewhat bruised. The tobacco projects about 0.5 centimeter from one 
end." 

(6) The observer, though not necessarily more intelligent or clever than 
the describer, places more emphasis upon the interrelations of the several 
features that he mentions, interprets what he sees, conjectures and indi- 
cates the significance of the object as a whole. This type is also men- 
tioned by Mrs. Bryant in her 'deseription-of-a-room' test (4). 

Example : "A long, white, round object, composed of a pai)er cylinder, 
about 1/1' or % centimeter in diameter, filled with what is probably 
Oriental tobacco. It is about 7 centimeters long and must weigh about 6 
grams [really 2 g.]. It is a badly rolled, uneven cigarette, and has been 
handled since it was pasted. In two places, to the right and left of the 
middle, the paper shows streaks as if it had been twisted. Other hori- 
zontal depressions indicate that there has been some pressure exerted 
upon the cigarette. I don't see the line where it has been stuck, but it 
must be badly fastened." 

(c) The emotional, imaginative, or poetic ^S? is less accurate in observa- 
tion, but introduces emotion, sentiment or imaginative intei*pretation in 
his description. 

Example : "It is a cigarette. It is thin, long, somewhat wrinkled. Its 
shape suggests a kind of elegant ease. Is it the cigarette itself or the 
memories that it awakes that remind me somehow of a scape-grace? The 
cigarette, there, all by itself on the table, makes me think of the bad 
student that goes off in the corner by himself to smoke. But I must write 
about the cigarette itself, and banish the idea of the smoker," etc. 

(d) The erudite S tells what he knows, what he has been taught, or 
interjects bits of personal information about the object. This may indi- 
cate the presence of an unusual fund of information, or it may indicate 
sheer laziness, in that it is often easier to write what one knows than 
actually to describe from direct inspection. 

Example : "We have before us here a cigarette. Let us see how it is 
made. In the first place, the exterior envelope is of light paper, called 
silk-paper. Then, inside is the tobacco. Tobacco is a product that grows 
almost everywhere in warm or temperate climates. The leaves of this 
shrub are gathered, and, after a treatment which lasts four years, are 
turned over to the public in the form of powder, that is, snuff, or in 
shreds, as in the present instance," etc. 



TEST 31: DESCRIPTION OP AN OBJECT [381] 15 

Miss Sharp did not attempt a classification into types, but noted that 
^''s observation "may be primarily directed to the particular objects or 
details of the picture, to the general arrangement of the objects, that is, 
the composition of the picture, or to the meaning of the picture, the story 
which it convey s, — the details observed being such as lead up to this inter- 
pretation, or explain and apply the interpretation that is given first. The 
different ways in which the same picture appeals to the various indi- 
viduals indicate differences in mental constitution." 

The results of LeClere's test are not directly comparable with those of 
other investigators, because his instructions were not to describe the 
object (gold watch), but to "write something that comes into mind as you 
look at it." He distinguishes in the contributions made by 30 girls, aged 
13 to 17 years, seven types, viz. : description, observation, imagination, 
moral reflection, erudition, pure or simple emotion, and esthetic emotion. 
He does not find, however, that any one of his ^S's contributes a paper that 
may be classified in any one of these types, nor does any paper give evi- 
dence of a 'complete mind,' in the sense that all seven of the types are 
represented therein. In general, older or relatively more intelligent chil- 
dren write more varied or complex papers, i. e., approach the theoretically 
'complete' type of mental constitution. 

Mention may be made here of the use of pictures in the Binet-Simon 
scale witli the simple question: "What do you see in that picture?" or 
"What is that picture about?" Credit is given the child according as his 
replies indicate mere enumeration or a comprehension of the total mean- 
ing of the scene depicted. Mile. Descoeudres (G) has extended the scoring 
of this form of description test by assigning scores to replies of different 
qualities and also by noting the number of ideas expressed. She gave a 
credit of 1 for simple enumeration, 2 if a phrase or sentence was used and 
3 if the replies showed interpretation of meaning. Application of three 
pictures (not those used by Binet) to 14 backward children showed that 
rank in quality correlated distinctly with rank in quantity and also with 
estimated intelligence (.84, P.E. .02). 

Notes. — The attempt to use the description-test for classifica- 
tion of ^'s into types of mental constitution is of obvious inter- 
est. The drawing, from sucli a classification, of inferences as to 
the mental make-up of the >S's is as obviously hazardous, for ^ 
may write his description in the vein that he thinks is wauled 
by E. Thus, Binet had reason to think that several S's that he 
had classed as poetic or emotional were actually, in their every- 
day life, of a very matter-of-fact and unsympathetic disposition. 
In general, the drawing of inferences from the work of a?'s 
would become safer in proportion as the descriptions were in- 
creased in number and variety, i e., an /S' who wrote in an emo- 
tional vein in four descriptions of four different objects has, pre- 
sumably, a real emotional constitution. 

What may be regarded as a modification of the description 
test is the test employed by Squire (10), in which children of 



16 [382] . DESCRIPTION AND REPORT 

various school grades were shown a series of 5 pictures and 
asked in each case (a) to supply an appropriate title to the pic- 
ture, and (6 ) to ask an appropriate question about the picture. 
The titles protfered by the children were classed under live 
rubrics : "mere enumeration of objects, description of pictures, 
unification in terms of action of principal figures, superficial 
unification in terms of relation to principal object and complete 
comprehension evidencing imaginative insight." 

With regard to the first problem, Mrs. Squire concludes: (1) No six- 
year-old cliild can be expected completely to comprehend a situation pre- 
sented pictorially. (2) Neither can a seven-year-old child be expected to 
give an adequate title. (3) The eight-year-old children are inclined to 
interpret meaning in terms of action, and a few are able to give super- 
ficial titles. (4) In the ninth and tenth years the titles given are mostly 
descriptive, but put tersely, rather than in disjointed statements. (5) 
By the twelfth year the majority of the names given will pass for titles, 
though a large proportion still deal with superficial aspects. (6) There 
are many cases of complete coinprehension in the thirteenth year. 

With regard to the second problem, replies may be classed as failures, 
irrelevant, minor or essential. There are no failures after the eighth 
year, while the percentage of 'essential' questions rises from 6 at age 7 to 
58 at age 13. 

It is scarcely necessary to add that these conclusions obtain only for 
the particular pictures employed by Mrs. Squire, whose article should be 
consulted by those who seek to repeat this form of test of comprehension. 

REFERENCES 

(1) A. Binet, Psvchologie individuelle. La description d'un objet. 
AnPs, 3: 1896 (1897), 296-332. 

(2) A. Binet, L'etude experimentale de I'intelligence. Paris, 1903. Pp. 
309. 

(3) A. Binet and V. Henri, La psychologic individuelle. AnPs, 2 : 1895, 
(1S9G), 411-4G5. 

(4) Sophie Bryant, Experiments in tes-ting the character of school 
children. J. Anlhrop. In.sl. of Great Britain and Ireland, 15 : 1886, 
338-349. 

(5) .7. Cohn and J. DiefCenbacher, Untersuchungen iiber Geschlechts-, 
Alters- luid Begabungs-Unterschiede bei Schiilern. Bcikeftc zur ZAngPs, 
2 : 1911, pp. 213. 

(6) Alice Descoeudres, Exploration de quelques tests d'intelligence 
chez des enfants anormaux et arrieres. ArPs (/), 11: 1911, 351-375. 

(7) A. LeClere, Description d'un objet. AnPs, 4:-. 1897 (1898), 379-389. 

(8) W. Monroe, Perception of children. PdSe, 11 : 1904, 498-507. 

(9) Stella Sharp, Individual psychology: a study in psychological 
method. AmJPs, 10 : 1899, 329-391. 

(10) Carrie R. Squire, Graded mental tests. JEdPs, 3: 1912, 363-380, 
etc., especially 373f. 



TEST 32 : FIDELITY OF REPORT [383] 17 

TEST 32 

Fidelity of report {Aussage test).— Capacity to observe, or 
range of observation, may be tested by methods previously de- 
scribed (Tests' 24 and 25) ; native retentiveness or capacity for 
recall may be tested by methods such as those that are described 
in subsequent sections ; capacity to describe what is seen may be 
tested as has been indicated in Test 31, but there exists a type of- 
activity, that of reporting a previous experience, which in a way 
combines these several activities, in that it demands both atten- 
tive observation, retention, recall, and an ability to marshal 
and formulate the items of experience in a verbal report (Aus- 
sage). In studying the 'psychology of testimony," interest has 
been developed of late in the direct examination by experimental 
methods of the capacity to report as such, and it has been found 
that reports may exhibit varying degrees of fidelity or reliability, 
more or less independently of the capacity that the reporters 
possess to observe or to retain experience; in other Avords, 
reports may contain discrepancies or inadequacies which are 
due, not only to misdirected attention, mal-observation and 
errors of memory, but also to lack of caution or of zeal for accu- 
rate statement, to scant}^ vocabulary, to injudicious phrase- 
olog}', or, of course, to deliberate intent to mislead.^ 

Historically, the idea of subjecting capacity of report to test 
seems first to have been definitely proi)Osed by Binet (3). Since 

^It is true tliat no hard and fast line can be drawn between the report- 
test and the test of range of apprehension, or between it and the ordinary 
memory-test ; in tlie main, however, range of appi'ehension implies a brief 
exposure followed by simple enumeration of the objects seen, so that what 
is tested is capacity to grasp or observe, rather than capacity to retain or 
to formulate. And the stock memory-test measures the amount of mate- 
rial that can be reproduced ; in It the learning is usually by heart, and 
the reproduction is largely mechanical. In the report-test, the object is 
more complex, the time of scrutiny much longer than in the observation- 
test, while stress is placed as much upon quality as upon quantity of re- 
production, especially upon the fidelity of reproduction as conditioned 
by such personal factors as timidity, cautiousness, assurance, skill in 
verbal formulation, etc. Again, the typical memory-test comprises a 
direct verbal reproduction of verbal material, while the ty]iical Aussage 
test comprises a verbal presentation of material originally experienced 
as visual scenes (pictures, events, etc.), with or without some verbal 
features. Nevertheless, in the interrogation, the report-test does closely 
resemble an ordinary test of memory. 



18 [384] DESCRIPTION AND REPORT 

then, the study of the psychology of testimony has found its most 
enthusiastic and active expositor in Stern, who has written an 
extensive monograph (31) on the subject, and in whose period- 
icals {Beitrdge zur Psychologie der Aussage and Zeits. f. arige- 
wandte Fsijchologie) most of the work of subsequent investi- 
gators has, directly or indirectly, appeared. The applicability 
of this line of work to many practical problems, particularly in 
the field of jurisprudence, is too obvious to need further com- 
ment. 

GENERAL METHODOLOGY OP THE REPORT-TEST 

1. Choice of material. Of the several types of material that 
have been elaborated for the study of the report, e. g., the picture- 
test, the event-test, the rumor-test, etc., the first mentioned has 
many advantages for our present purposes.- Two types of pic- 
ture-test are prescribed; the first closely patterned after that 
employed by Binet in his study of suggestibility in school chil- 
dren, the second more in accord with the stock picture-test, as 
developed by Stern, Borst, Wreschner, Lobsien, and others. 

2. Choice of evposiire-Umc. For pictures^ times ranging 
from 5 sec. to 7 min. have been used, though 45-60 sec. is most 
usual. The principle which has controlled the choice of expos- 
ure-time for the two tests that follow is to select such a period 
as will permit an average S to examine each detail of the object 
once. 

3. Choice of time-interval. For the sake of brevity, the in- 
structions that follow prescribe a report directly after the ex- 
posure. If circumstances permit, E will find it of interest to 
extend the interval to several minutes, or even hours or weeks. 
The effect of lengthening time-interval has not as yet been satis- 
factorily determined. 

4. Choice of form of report. There are two distinct forms of 
report, (1) the 'narrative' (Bericht, recit) , (2) the 'interroga- 
tory' {Verhor of Stern, Priifung of Wreschner, interrogatoire of 



-For a discussion of these advantages, of the several methods in detail, 
of the chief results, and for a general review of the whole field of the 
psychology of testimony, the reader is referred to an earlier discussion by 
the author (34). Suggestions for further tests will likewise be found 
therein. 



TEST 8i2 : FIDELITY OP repout [385] 19 

Borst, forqage de memoire or questionnaire of Binet ) .^ The nar- 
rative is a free account, delivered by S, either orally or in writing, 
without comment, question, or suggestion by E: the interroga- 
tory is a series of prearranged questions; the replies to these 
questions constitute the 'deposition' (Vehorsprodukt) . The 
constituent parts of the narrative or the deposition may be 
termed 'statements' or 'items.' Each form of report has its ad- 
vantages and its disadvantages : both should be employed when- 
ever possible. 

5. Choice of form of interrogatory. An interrogatory is 
'complete' when its questions cover all features of the experience 
exhaustively, and are propounded to all S"s in the same order 
and manner : an interrogatory is 'incomplete' when its questions 
are restricted to such as refer only to those items not mentioned 
by >Sf in his narrative. The interrogatories that follow are de- 
signed to be complete, but E may, by appropriate selection, con- 
vert thein into the incomplete type. 

6. Choice of questions. The form of questioning very mate- 
rially affects >S"s deposition, particularly if the questions are of 
the type known as 'leading' or 'suggestive' questions. To some 
extent any question is suggestive, in so far as it implies that its 
recipient knows something. If we follow Stern, at least six 
types of questions may be framed, viz. : determinative, com- 
pletely disjunctive, incompletely disjunctive, expectative, im- 
plicative, and consecutive. 

A determinative question is one that is introduced by a pronoun or 
interrogative adverb, and is the least suggestive form of question, e. g., 
"Wlaat color is the dog?" 

A completely disjunctive question is one that forces the reporter to 
choose between two specified alternatives, e. g., "Is there a dog in the 
picture?" 

An incompletely disiunctive question is one that offers the reporter a 
choice between two alternatives, but does not entirely preclude a third 
possibility, e. g., "Is the dog white or black?" In practise, for many re- 
porters, especially for children, this form is virtually completely disjunc- 
tive, since a certain amount of independence is demanded for the choice 
of the third possibility, c. g., for the answer "The dog is brown." 

An expectative question is one that arouses a moderately strong sug- 



^The terminology of the report-experiment has developed in Germany 
and France. I have been obliged to coin English equivalents — a task not 
always easy because the foreign terms have not been chosen with special 
care to secure consistency or to accord with legal phraseology. For this 
reason, the foreign equivalents are included here and elsewhere in the 
discussion. 



20 [386] DESCRIPTION AND REPORT 

gestion of the answer, e. g., "Was there not a dog in the picture?" (This 
is the form used by Binet to induce moderate suggestion.) 

An implicative question is one that assumes or at least implies the 
presence of a feature that was not really present in the experience, e. g., 
"What color is the catV" In practise, it is clear that a determinative 
question might become implicative if the reporter had completely for- 
gotten the item to which it referred. (The implicative question was used 
by Biuet to induce strong suggestion. ) 

The consecutive question is any form of question that is used to augment 
a suggeston that has been developed by previous questions. 

7. Choice of metliod of grading. Treatment of data. In 
general; the adequacy of a report depends both upon its quantity 
aud its quality: quantity is measured by the number of items 
mentioned or the number of questions answered (in absolute or 
in relative terms) and is referred to as the range of report 
{Unifang, etendne) ; quality is measured by the fidelity of the 
statements made, and is referred to as the accuracy of report 
[Treue, fidelite). 

We have also at our command useful indications of the posi- 
tiveness or degree of assurance that S places in his report. Be- 
sides (1) complete uncertainty ("I don't know" or "I have for- 
gotten"), we may distinguish (2) hesitancy (''I think" or ''I 
believe"), (3) positive statement or assurance of ordinary de- 
gree, and (4) attestation or attestable assurance, i. e., the high- 
est degree of assurance, as indicated by ^"s willingness to take 
his oath that the statement is correct. 

On this basis, the data may be subjected to treatment for the 
computation of a number of 'coefficients of report,' by the aid of 
the following simple formulas : 

Coefficients op Eeport* 

Let P = number of possible items, 

n = number of items reported (or replies made), 
c = number of items reported with certainty (in- 
cluding attestation), 



*The fourth formula is used by many writers, in place of the fifth, for 
accuracy of report ; as here indicated, however, the indeterminate cases 
("I don't know") are omitted from the denominator in computing accu- 
racy. 

Next to range and accuracy, the most important coefficient is probably 
warranted assurance (8th formula), as a high ratio indicates a good wit- 
ness, Avho reports a large number of items both correctly and with assur- 
ance. 



TEST 32 : FIDELITY OF REPORT [387] 21 

a = number of items whose correctness is attested 
under oath, 
n[N)=-- number of items re^^orted in the narrative, 
n{D)— number of items reported in the deposition, 
nir)= number of items that are rightly reported, 
c(r)'= number of items that are certain and right, 
a{r)'— number of items that are attested and right, 
a{tv)= number of items that are attested and wrong 



Then 




(1) 


n 


(2) 


n/P 



-- range of report, absolute (C77?«ffl«(7;, etendue'} 
range of report, relative, 

(3) n(N)/ii{D)=: spontaneity of report, 

(4) n (r) / u = range of knowledge (Urn fang des Wissens, 

etendue du savoir) , 

(5) n{r)/G--= accuracy of report {Ti'eue, fidelite), 

(C) c/n=i assurance (suhjective Siclierheit^ assurance) , 

(7) c(r)/c^ reliability of assurance {Zuverldssigkeit der 

S i c her he i t, Sicherheitsherechtigung, 
fidelite de la certitude) , 

(8) c(r)/H— warranted assurance [SicherheitJler Person, 

assurance justifiee), 

(9) ■c(r)/M(r)= assured accuracy {Versicherte Richtigkeit, 

justesse certifiee), 

(10) a/n == tendency to oath or attestable assurance 

{tendance an serment) , 

(11) .a (r) /n = Avarranted tendency to oath {tendance au ser- 

ment veridique) , 

(12) ff(«7)/7i= unwarranted tendency to oath {tendance au 

fa ux-tem oignage ) , 

(13) a{r)/a= reliability of oath {fidelite du serment). 

The cleterniination of P, and hence of relative range of report, is often 
beset with clifficnlty ; the most practical working rule is to rank as 'one 
item' any combination of features that forms a single natural working 
group, the details of which would escape individual observation under 
ordinary conditions. Again, P may be taken as the number of separate 
items mentioned by a competent S in describing the picture or test-object 
by direct observation. Or, as Hegge (18) proposes, P may be computed 
by adding all the specific items mentioned in the reports of any one of a 
nuniber of .S"s. Obviously, the magnitude of P will tend to increase with 
the number of (S's imtil a point is reached beyond which additional reports 
fail to affect it appreciably. 



22 [388] DESCRIPTION AND REPORT 

A similar difficulty arises in deciding what items and how many should 
be the subject of questions in the interrogatory. In general, the coeffi- 
cients computed will have value only for a given picture or event and 
oidy when obtained by a given interrogatory, and the interrogatory must 
be constructed empirically, on the basis of actual preliminary trials, never 
a priori. 

Although different errors unquestionably have different degrees of im- 
portance (to forget a man is more serious than to forget the color of his 
necktie), no satisfactory plan for arbitrarily 'weighting' different items 
has been devised. 

The psychologically best method of grading is unquestionably to classify 
the data statistically according to various categories — such as persons, 
objects, colors, sizes, etc. — and to compute range, accuracy, assurance and 
the <ither coefficients for each category separately. This will greatly in- 
crease the labor of quantitative treatment, but it will afford valuable 
insight into the qualitative conditions of report that could not otherwise 
be secured : the several coefficients can, for comparative purposes, be 
united subsequently into a single series of coefficients for the person or 
persons under consideration. 

A. REPORT-TEST WITH BINET^S CARD OP OBJECTS 

Material. — Rectangular sheet of orange-yellow cardboard, 
33.5 X 40.5 cm., to which are attached two photographs, a label, 
a button, a pennj^, and a postage stamp.^ Watch. 

Method. — Give S the following instructions : "I want to try 
an experiment with you to see how good your memory is. I am 
going to show you a large card with a number of things fastened 
on it. You will have just half a minute to look at it. Half a 
minute is a pretty short time, so you must look very carefully, 
because afterwards I shall want you to tell me what you have 
seen, and I shall ask you questions about many little details, 
and I want you to answer these questions exactly, if you can. 
Do you understand ?" 

Place the card directly before >S' in a good light. At the end of 
30 sec, remove it and keep it well concealed. Direct ^8' at once : 
"Now tell me everything you saw : describe it so clearly that if 
I had never seen the card 1 should know all about what was on 
it." The narrative is given orally by 8, and recorded verbatim 
by E, without comment, query, or suggestion. Reread the report 
to S, and ask him to indicate what statements he is so sure of 



^These objects are not exact duplicates of the Binet group, and the card 
is somewhat larger. The exposure-time and the questions of the inter- 
rogatory have been correspondingly modified. 



TEST 32: FIDELITY OF REPORT [389] 23 

that he would swear to their accuracy. Underline these state- 
ments. 

Proceed next with the interrogatory. If possible, ask S the 
following questions in the order given."' Record his replies by 
number, verbatim, and underline all attested replies. 

Interrogatory for the card of objects. 

(1) Did you notice a com. ^ 

(2) What kind of a coin is it? (What denomination?) 

(3) Does it show 'heads' or 'tails?' 

(4) Is it bright or dull? 

(5) Is it in good condition, or scratched and marred? 

(6) What is engraved on it ? (What does it say?) 

(7) How is it fastened to the cardboard? 

(8) Did you notice a button f 

(9) What is its shape? 

(10) What is its color? 

(11) Is it the same color all over? 

(12) Is it made of cloth or of some other substance? 

(13) How many holes are there in it? 

(14) How is it fastened to the cardboard ? 

(15) Did 3'ou notice a small picture {print) near the top of 

the cardboard? 
(10) What shape is it? 

(17) What does it represent ? (What is it about?) 

(18) How many persons are there in it? 

(19) What is the lady doing with her right hand? 



'•8 may intei-fere with this program, either by anticipating the answers 
to some questions, or by committing errors, c. g., describing an essentially 
different scene in the larger photograph ; in such an event, E must devise 
other questions to follow up the cues thus given. Thus, if to Question 14, 
8 replies "By a thread," ask further questions, e. g.. "Do the threads pass 
through the holes or around the whole button?" "Draw them." "What 
color are they," etc : 

It Is probably better to question S concerning objects that he fails to 
mention in his narrative, save that, naturally, if the first question in each 

group, "Did you notice ?" Is answered negatively, the remaining 

questions about that object are omitted. Many children fail spontane- 
ously to recall one or more objects, but can nevertheless answer correctly 
questions about them, once the object is suggested. 



24 [390] DESCRIPTION AND REPORT 

(20) What is the other person doing? 

(21) Where is he sitting? 

(22) AVhat is he looking at? Describe it exactly. 

(23) Is the name of the picture printed on it? 

(24) Bid you notice another picture f {A photograph?) 

(25) What shape is it? 

(26) What does it represent? (What is it about?) 

(27) How many persons are there in it? 

(28) How are they dressed? 

(29) Where are they standing? 

(30) How man}^ animals are there in the picture? 

(31) Is the cart on wheels or not? 

(32) Are there any words printed in the picture? What are 

they? 

(33) What did you see in the background (in the back of the 

picture?) 

(34) What did you see in the foreground (in the front of Ihe 

picture?) 

(35) Is the picture taken in summer or winter? How do 30U 

know ? 

(30) Did you notice a stamp f 

(37) Is it American or foreign? 

(38) How much is it worth? (What denomination?) 

(39) What color is it? 

(40) Wliat is on it? (What picture or printing is on it?) 

(41) On what part of the cardboard is it? 

(42) Is it a new one or has it been used? (Describe the can- 

cellation mark.) 

(43) Did you notice a ladel (sticker, paster?) 

(44) What color is it? 

(45) What shape is it? (Is it perfectly rectangular? Draw it.) 

(46) Is there any printing on it ? What? 

(47) Is there any border around the printing? 

(48) How is it fastened to the cardboard? 

(49) How is it placed on the cardboard — right-side up, slant- 

ing, or how? 

(50) W^hat color is the cardboard? 



TEST 32: FIDELITY OF REPORT [391] 25 

Variations of Method. — ( 1 ) To shorten the experiment, omit 
the narrative and take only the deposition, but first ask >S' to 
name the objects seen. Kecord the number. 

(2) Mature /5"s may be tested in small groups, though this is 
not recommended. Both narrative and deposition must then be 
written by the S'H. For comparative purposes, the same pro- 
cedure must be followed for all >8"s, since oral and written re- 
ports cannot be assumed to be equivalent. 

(3) To induce a moderate degree of suggestion, E may recast 
the questions of the above interrogator}^ into an expectative form 
and add others, e. g., in place of No. 14 : ''Is not the button 
fastened to the cardboard by a thread?" In place of No. 30: 
"Isn't there a little dog besides the horse?" In place of No. 42 : 
"Isn't the postage-stamp cancelled ?" Or, for additions : "Isn't 
there a seventh object on the cardboard ?" "Draw it." "Are there 
not four wheels on the cart?" etc. 

(4) To induce a strong degree of suggestion, E may recast 
the questions given into an implicative form, and add others as 
desired, e. g., in place of No. 9 : "Draw the button so as to shoAV 
the place where it is broken." In place of 30 : "Are both horses 
of the same color?" In place of 42 : "Describe the cancellation- 
mark on the stamp." In addition to 40 : "What else does the 
label have on it besides 'Glass. Handle with care.'?" Or, in 
place of 21 : "Is the little boy's mother putting her arm around 
him as he sits in her lap?" For additional questions, devise 
a number such as: "Is the lady's necktie dark brown or 
blue?" etc. 

Results. — (1) With regard to the number of objects spon- 
taneously recalled, the following results indicate the outcome 
found by Binet" with 23 children 9 to 12 years of age and by an 
experimenter from the author's laboratory (12b) with 34 school 
children in the fourth grade of an Ithaca (N. Y.) public school : 

Number of objects 6 5 4 3 Average. 

French children 4 1(» 8 1 4.78 

Ithaca children t4 10 6 4 5.00 

Counting 1 for each right answer and 0..5 for each partly right 

'For a detailed presentation of these results, see his book (3, nn. 255- 
329). 



26 [392J DESCRIPTION AND REPORT 

answer, the Ithaca children scored in their depositions (possible 
score = 50) an average of 30.5, with a maximum of 43.5 and a 
minimum of 6.5. 

(2) Bearing in mind that the actual objects differed some- 
what, the reader may compare Binet's results and our own with 
regard to the order and frequency of omission in the narrative : 

Name of object stamp label button coin small picture large picture 

French cbiiclren 10 9 4 3 2 

Ithaca children 8 6 6 7 3 4 

(3) In tests of older children with written narratives, Binet 
found little difference in the total number of objects mentioned, 
but marked differences in the wealth of details and the precision 
of their formulation. 

(4) The objects have distinct individualit}^, i. e., though ^ 
may forget the color or the value of the stamp, yet if he recalls 
the object at all, it is as a stamp, not, for instance, as "some 
square, greenish-colored thing." In other words, 8 recalls a 
thing, not a number of meaningless attributes.^ 

(5) >8"s may report very precisely and with assurance objects 
or features of objects Avhich are totally incorrect, e. g., they may 
draw the thread fastening the button, and take oath as to its 
presence. Hence, testimony given with precision and detail and 
with the highest degree of assurance maj^ be absolutely false:, 

(6) aS^'s may recall one feature of an object exactly, but rail 
entirely in their description of another feature of the same ob- 
ject, e. g., recall that the label is red, but err as to its shape. It 
follows that, in testimonj^, a witness whose assertions are veri- 
fied in many details may, nevertheless, err in his statements with 
regard to some other detail that happens not to be susceptible 
of verification. 

(7) If >S* fails to mention an object in his narrative, but re- 
calls it immediately in the interrogatory, his further character- 
ization of it may be quite as accurate as that of other /8"s who 
had recalled it spontaneously. 



"In the aiithor's study of range of Aasual apprehension, however, there 
appeared numerous cases of the character thus denied by Binet, for exam- 
ple, a nickel was recalled only as "something bright and round in the 
upper corner of the cardboard," 



TEST 32 : FIDELITY OF REPORT [393] 27 

(8) III comparing different types of questions, Binet fonnd 
26 per cent, error for indiiferent, 38 per cent, for moderately 
suggestive, and 61 per cent, error for strongly suggestive ques- 
tions. 

B. REPORT-TEST WITH A COLORED PICTURE 

Materials. — Set of four colored pictures : "Australians," "A 
Disputed Case," "AVasliington and Sally," and 'The Orphan's 
Prayer."^' Watch. 

Method, — Give S instructions analogous to those in the pre- 
ceding form of report-test, but without specifying the time of 
exposure. Expose the picture for 20 sec. Secure an oral narra- 
tive and deposition as directed above. Suggestions for interrog- 
atories for two of the pictures follow. 

Interrogatory for "A Disputed Case.'" 

(1) How wide is the picture (horizontally) ? 

(2) How high is the picture (vertically) ? 

(3) Is there any border : if so, what color? 

(1) HoAV many persons are there in the picture? 
Take tlie person on your right : 

(5) Is he young, middle-aged, or old? 

(6) What is his posture, — sitting, standing, or lying down? 

(7) What is he doing? 

(8) What is his facial expression? 

(1)) Is he bald or has he abundant hair? 

( 10) What color is his hair? 

(11) Is he smooth-faced or has he a moustache or a beard? 

(12) AVhat color is his beard? 



"All four pictures may be procured through C. 11. Stoelting Co., Chicago, 
111. The "Australians" is a large lithograph, one of a series called Lente- 
niann's Types of Nations, catalogued by E. Steiger & Co., New York City. 
It is recommended for use with large groups, numbering from 10 to 50 or 
inoi-e *S"s. The "Hindoos" lithograph prescribed in Test 31 may be used 
\Yith this for cheek tests, as it is of the same dimensions and of similar 
character. 

The "Disputed Case" (No. 1235 of the Taber-Prang Art Co.'s collection) 
is recommended for use save for very young children or for large groups. 
"Washington and Sally" and "The Orphan's Prayer" (Nos. 699 and 1207, 
respectively, of the same collection) may be used for subsidiary and check 
tests. 



28 [384] DESCRIPTION AND REPORT 



(13 
(14 
(15 

(16 
(17 
(18 
(19 
(20 
(21 
(22 
(23 
(24 



Does his moustaclie conceal his mouth? 

l>oes he wear eye-glasses or spectacles? 

Has he a hat on? What kind? What color? 

Where is his right hand? 

Where is his left hand? 

What color is his coat ? 

What color is his shirt? 

Has he a collar on ? 

AVhat color is his necktie? 

"^Miat color is his vest ? 

What color are his trousers? 

Does he wear slippers or shoes or boots? 

Take the person on your left:^° 



(25-44) Eepeat questions 5-24. 



(45 
(46 
(47 
(48 
(49 
(50 
(51 
(52 
(53 
(54 
(55 
(56 
(57 
(58 
(59 
(60 
(61 
(62 
(63 
(64 
(65 



What kind of light or lamp is used? 

Where is it placed? 

Where is the ink-well? 

Is there not a pen in it ? 

What color is the dog? 

Is there a table or bench? 

How long is it (really) ? 

What color is the table cloth or covering? 

Is the fringe of the same or of a different color? 

Kame the objects on the table. 

How many chairs are there in the room? 

Is the rocking chair on your left or on your right? 

Is there an umbrella? 

Do you think it is jet-black or dark-blue? 

In Avhat position is it? 

Name the objects in front of the table on the floor. 

Is there a satchel or dress-suit case in the room ? Which ? 

Is it open or shut? 

What do the pictures on the wall represent ? 

How many windows are visible? 

Can vou see any detail of outdoor scenerv through them? 



"If it is desii-ed to economize tiiiie, omit questions 25 to 44. 



TEST 32 : FIDELITY OF REPORT [395] 29 

How many hats are there in the room? 

Describe and locate them. 

Can you recall the time indicated by the clock on the 

wall? 
What object is on your extreme right? 
Are there any books in this part of the room ? 
What color is the wall ? 
Where is the newspaper? 
How long did you see the picture? 

Interrogatory for the "^Australians." 

How many persons are there in the picture? 

How many animals? 

What kind of animals? 

What is the person on your left doing? 

What is the object behind him? 

What is the person in the middle of the picture doing? 

Has this person a beard or not ? 

Is the man who is in charge of the dog holding him by a 

leash (guiding rope) or by taking hold directly of the 

scruff of his neck? 
What are the persons in the background doing? 
Do the persons in the foreground Avear anything beside 

the loin-cloth? 
What color is their skin? 
AV^hat color is the dog? 
AVhat is the most peculiar thing that you noted in the 

appearance of the men in the picture? 
What objects lie in the immediate foreground? 
Is there any Avater represented in the picture? 
Is the white man standing on the left or on the right? 
Is the sun represented in the picture as shining from your 

right or from your left ? How do you knoAA' ? 
(18) How long did you see the picture? 

Variations of IMethod. — Test the effect of varying the time 
of exposure, of extending the time-interval between exposure and 
report, of repeating the report (narrative or interrogatory), 
without further exposure, two or more times at intervals of sev- 



30 [396] DESCRIPTION AND REPORT 

eral days or weeks/^ of confronting S with, the picture for care- 
ful criticisms of the report he has submitted. Though it is not 
advised as the best metliod, the substitution of written for oral 
narratives and depositions will permit an instructive class ex- 
periment. 

Typical Results. — The following narrative by a college 
senior, a man of varied experience, mature, much traveled, and 
well trained, though of mediocre native ability, shows clearly 
the tendency of an adult 8 to describe a situation, a meaningful 
whole, rather than merely to enumerate details, as do many chil- 
dren. Indeed, the detail here is distinctly subordinated to the 
interpretative rendering. The narrative tells what the picture 
is about, rather than what it is. 

"The picture, about 10x10 inches, represents a scene that ^YOuld be 
typical of a rural justice of the peace and a man who has come to ask his 
advice on some subject. The Justice sits before his desk, an old manu- 
script before him, one hand on his head as if he had not yet given his 
decision. The office is filled with books and on one of them in the left of 
the pictiu'e rests his top-hat. The visitor seems to be troubled very much ; 
his clothing denotes that he is of a different station in life. He has placed 
his carpet-bag on the floor and his hat near it, as a sign of great mental 
strain, which seems to increase as he awaits the decision. On the wall to 
the right is a double map of the world, showing, perhaps, that the Justice 
is a man of wisdom and a source of information to his neighbors. The 
room, furniture, the manner of dress would have denoted a time long be- 
fore ours. The men seem to be about 65 or 70 years of age." 

In his deposition, this student rendered an unusually full list 
of answers : the reply — "I don't know" — is given only twice 
(Questions 34 and 72). The range of report is, therefore, large, 
but the fidelity is relatively small, since all the statements that 
follow are erroneous ones from his report (those italicized are 
also attested statements) : 

The picture is 14x14 inches. The man on the right is MM, wears spec- 
tacles, lias Ms riglit hand on a paper, wears a collar, a purple tie, black 
trousers, and slippers. The man on the left is thinking hard, has a 
troubled expression, wears a sandy moustache ; he has his right hand in 
his pocket, his left on his Icnec ; he wears a light-colored vest and brown 
trousers. The room is lighted by a candle which stands on the pile of 
books. There is a pen in the ink-well. The table is 14 feet long, has a 
light-colored cloth top u-ifli fringe of a different color. There are three 
chairs in the room, the rocker being at the left. The unihrella is dark blue 
in color, and lies on the floor. There is a coat on the floor in front of the 
table; there is a basket on the table. The satchel is shut. One loindow is 



"See Ref, 34 for further suggestions. 



TEST 32 : FIDELITY OF REPORT 



[397] 31 



visiNe. There is a chair at the extreme right of the picture. The wall is 
white. (The cuspidor aud the newspaper are not recalled.) 

General Kesults op Tests of Report. — (1) Accuracy. The 
cliief single result of the Aussage psychology is that an errorless 
report is not the rule, but the exception, even when the report is 
made by a competent /^ under favorable conditions. Thus, in 240 
reports. Miss Borst found only 2 per cent, errorless narratives 
and 0.5 per cent, errorless depositions. These errorless reports 
are commonly characterized by very small range, i. e., they are 
reports of ;S"s who are extremely cautious and state only what 
they are certain of. For certain tj-pes of material, particularly 
estimates of time, space, number, etc., not only are erroneous 
reports the rule, l3ut the most common single answer is more 
likely wrong than right (Dauber). 

The average S, when no suggestive questions are employed, 
exhibits a coefficient of accuracy of approximately 75 per cent. 

(2) Range and accuracy. There is no general relation of 
range to accuracy, though, for a given 8, it is doubtless true tliat 
tliere is an inverse relation between these two coefficients.^^ 

(3) Range and other constants. There is no general paral- 
lelism between range of report and other coefficients which de- 
4)end upon degree of assurance. 

TABLE 50 

Comparative Accuracy of Sicorn and Vusirorn Statements 
(Stern and Borst) 





STERN 


STERN 


STERN 


BORST 




Range Errors 


Range 


Errors 


Range 


Errors 


Range 


Errors 


Positive statements— 

Sworn statements 

Unsworn statements-.. 

Certain statements 

Uncertain statements- 


(100) 
76 
2-1 


13.6 

11 

20 


(100) 
68 
32 


19 

7 


(100) 
70 
30 


23 
14 


(100) 
60 
40 
97.5 
2.5 


11.0 
8.2 
15.5 
10.1 
44.0 



Note. — All figures are in per cents. The results, save those of the third 
and fourth columns, refer to narratives, not depositions. 

'-The reason for this lack of general relation bet\A-een range and accu- 
racy is presumably that there are two kinds of good witnesses — the one 
possesses good capacity of observation, recall and report, and hence exhib- 
its a large range and a high degree of accuracy ; the other is cautious, and 
therefore restricts his range, which may be poor at best. 



32 [398] DESCRIPTION AND REPORT 

(4) Accuracy and attestation. Generally speaking, attesta- 
tion does not guarantee accuracj'; on the contrary, though the 
number of errors is nearly twice as great in unsworn as in sworn 
testimony (according to Stern, 1,82 times, according to Borst, 
1.89 times as great), there still remains as high as 10 per cent, 
error in sworn testimony. These relations are shown clearly in 
Table 50. 

(5) Dependence on SGX. In all of Stern's work, both in narra- 
tives and depositions, with pictures, or events, or estimations of 
times and distances, whether under oath or not, the reports of 
men have been more accurate (by from 20 to 33 per cent.), 
though less extended, than those of women, and a similar sex- 
difference has appeared in some tests of school children. This 
superior accuracy of boys becomes more evident when the report 
is difficult to make. Stern's conclusions, however, have not been 
confirmed by Wreschner, Breukink, or Miss Borst. Wreschner 
found that among adults women did better than men. Breukink 
found that men students reported slightly more than women, 
but with less accuracy, especialh^ when colors were concerned. 
His men, however, proved more resistant to suggestive questions. 
Miss Borst. similarly, declares women to be superior to men, but 
an inspection of her results shows that the superiority of women 
consisted in the fact that they returned a larger number of cor- 
rect statements, while the men did not make less accurate state- 
ments in their more limited reports. A recent and as yet unpub- 
lished investigation conducted by Boring (6) in the author's 
laboratory, in which groups of boys and girls and of men and 
women reported upon the events displayed in a moving picture 
leads to the conclusion that relatively little sex-difference exists 
between boys and girls (with a tendencj^ in favor of the boj's), 
Avhereas a quite marked and certain superiority^ of men over 
women exists among adult *S"s. 

More specifically, Borst found that in the narrative the range of men 
was 70 per cent., and in the deposition 83 per cent, of the range of women, 
while the accuracy of men in both forms of report was approximately 96 
per cent, of the accuracy of women. 

There is a similar discrepancy between Stern and Borst with regard to 
the tendency to attestation ; the former found that men swore to 71 per 
cent, and women to 85 per cent, of their report, whereas the latter found 



TEST 32 : FIDELITY OP REPORT [399] 33 

that men swore to Gl per ceut. and women to but 59 per cent, of their 
report. 

Boring found evidence that boys tend to exceed girls in range of report, 
tendency to oath and unwarranted tendency to oath, while girls undoubt- 
edly exceed boys in reliability of oath. With adults, men apparently ex- 
ceed women in range of report, and they undoubtedly exceed them in 
range of knowledge, assurance, warranted assurance, assured accuracy 
and reliability of oath. Women possess a very decidedly greater unwar- 
ranted tendency to oath. The fact that sex-differences in report are more 
pronounced in'^adults than in children accords with what we know of 
sex-differences in general. 

(6) Dependence on age. Most experimenters conclude that 
the reports of children are in every way inferior to those of 
adults, that their range is smaller, their inaccuracy greater, and 
their warranted assurance and reliability of assurance much 
lower because their assurance is too great. Stern concludes that 
during the ages 7 to 18 the range, especially the range of knowl- 
edge, increases as much "as 50 per cent., but the accuracy, save 
in the deposition, does not increase as rapidly (20 per cent.). 
This development of capacity to report is not continuous, but . 
characterized by rapid modification at the age of puberty. 
Nearly all experimenters have commented upon the excessive 
suggestibility of children before the age of puberty. Cohn and 
Dieffenbacher detected improvement in fidelity up to 15 years in 
boys, but up to 20 in girls. 

Stern has endeavored to analyze in part the development of the child's 
capacity to report, and has distinguished four stages: (1) the very young 
child enumerates only isolated objects or persons (Binet's enumerator 
type) ; (2) at about the eighth year, actions are reported more carefully; 
(3) during the years 9-10, attention is for the first time paid to spatial, 
temporal and causal relations; (4) in a still later period there appears 
the capacity to make a qualitative analysis of the constituent features of 
the objects reported. Cohn and Dieffenbacher think that there should 
perhaps be added a fifth period, from 16 years on, when the report shows 
evidence of reflec-tive and interpretative consideration. 

The question as to whether the testimony of children is so imperfect 
as to warrant absolute exclusion from court proceedings has given rise to 
much discussion. Thus, Baginsky, the German specialist in chil- 
dren's diseases, declares that children are the most dangerous of all wit- 
nesses and demands that their testimony be excluded wherever possible. 
Gross, the leading German authority on criminal law and criminal psy- 
.chology, however, asserts that a healthy half-grown boy is the best pos- 
sible witness for simple events, that children make different errors, but 
no worse ones than do adults, while, in respect to freedom from prejudice, 
erroneous interpretation, emotion, intoxication and the like, a child is 
better fitted than an adult to give an accurate report. 

Lipmann contends, quite on the contrary, that the unreliability of chil- 



34 [400] DESCRIPTION AND REPORT 

tlreu's testimony is due in part to an uncritical filling out of gaps in 
memory, and in part to an unskillful distribution of the attention (though 
the child's attention is well enough concentrated on what he does report). 
Heindl says that children are perfectly good observers, perhaps even more 
objective than adults, but that they cannot translate their observations 
into verbal reports skillfully. 

The work of Boring Avas specially directed toward this controversy. He 
found men superior to boys in all coeJflcients, save assurance, assured 
accuracy and tendency to oath, in which there was no decided difference. 
Women exceed girls unquestionably in both range and spontaneity of 
report ; women display a greater tendency to oath and a greater war- 
ranted tendency to oath, but they also display a greater unwarranted 
tendency to oath and a lesser reliability of oath, L e., they seem to be 
less cautious than girls. 

(7) Dependence on intelligence. There is no conclusive evi- 
dence upon the relation between good report and general intelli- 
gence. Winteler found no difference in range of knowledge and 
lidelity of report between the three most intelligent and the four 
least intelligent in his classes of 10-year-old boys. 

(8) Dependence on social status. That intelligence may, 
however, play a positive role is suggested by the conclusions of 
Breukink that physicians, professors and teachers give more 
extended and more accurate reports than nurses and laboring 
men, and that the cultured group is much less open to suggestion 
than the uncultured and much less liable to take oath to their 
answers to suggestive questions. 

(9) Defectives. The reports of defectives, paralytics, epilep- 
tics, the insane, etc., show, as one might expect, a xerj high de- 
gree of inaccuracy, even when the pathological condition is not 
seriously developed. Such persons are also highly suggestible 
(de Placzek). Dupree points out that the reports of such per- 
sons are peculiarly dangerous when their deficiency is latent or 
concealed. Gregor found that paralytics were not very bad re- 
porters when the conditions were all favorable, but that they 
fell olf decidedly under less favorable conditions — long time- 
interval, suggestion, etc. 

(10) Dependence on time-interval. Lengthening the inter- 
val between experience and report tends, on the whole, to reduce 
range and accuracy, but there is nothing like the loss in efficiency 
shown in typical curves of forgetting for nonsense syllables 
and similar material; indeed, for some ^'s the report may be 



TEST 32 : FIDELITY OF REPORT 



[401] 35 



improved in some respects after several days have elapsed. I)al- 
lenbacli's figures (Table 51) may be taken as fairly typical. 

TABLE 51 

Effect of Time-Interval on Report {Dallenhach) 





NARRATIVE 


DEPOSITION 


INTERVAL 


Items Recalled 


Per Cent. Error 


Questions 
Answered 


Per Cent. 
Error 





765 
735 
750 
569 


10.5 
14.3 

18.0 
22.4 


880 
855 
854 
801 


14.1 


5 Days 


18.2 


15 Days 


20.7 


45 Days 


22.4 







From his earlier tests, Stern computed a fairly constant decrease of 
accuracy with time, amounting, on the average, to a loss of 0.33 per cent, 
per day over the period of three weeks which he studied ; siinilarlj', Borst 
computed a decrease in accuracy of 0.27 per cent, per day during a period 
of six days. 

x^hough range and accuracy seem thus to suffer with the lapse of time, 

/assurance, as shown bj' the number of certain and attested statements, 

lis not, it seems, equally affected, but shows either a surprising constancy, 

'^•, if anything, a tendency to increase. I'rom this it may be concluded 

that assurance and tendency to oath are due to S"s 'personal equation' 

(rather than to the freshness of his memory. It would follow, of course. 

That warranted assurance and warranted tendency to oath decline with 

the lapse of time. 

In explaining the improvement found in some reports after lapse of 
time, Schultz contends that perseveration is one of the disturbing factors 
in reports made shortly after the experience ; in so far as perseveration is 
a tendency that weakens with time, there would thus be less inaccuracy 
from this source of error in later reports. 

Jaffa asserts, more positively, that narration directly after an event by 
no means gives the best result ; rather the memory of the event is organ- 
ized and consolidated several weeks later and then affords a far more 
faithful picture of the event than an account after a brief interval. It 
seems doubtful, however, whether such a view can be accepted as a gen- 
eralization, however true it may be under some conditions. 

That the lapse of time occasions various and complex modifications is 
also indicated by the work of Cohn and Dieffenbacher, who compared 
direct descriptions of one colored picture (Test 31) with narratives and 
depositions upon another colored picture with an 8-day interval between 
presentation and report. Here, while there was a positive correlation 
between range of description and range of narration, there appeared dis- 
tinct differences in the nature of the two accounts, e. (/.. acts and interpre- 
tations are more prominent in reports than in descriptions. 



(11) Dependence on form of report. All authorities agree 
that Ihe use of the interrogatory, whether <:)f the complete or in- 



36 [402] 



DESCRIPTION AND REPORT 



complete form, increases the range and decreases the accuracy 
of the report.l Thus, in comparison with the narrative, the range 
of the inteirogatory may be 50 per cent, greater, while the inac- 
curacy (of tlie inconijilete interrogatory) may be as much as 550 
per cent, greater. In general terms we may say that about one- 
tenth of the narrative is inexact, but about one-quarter of the 
deposition. Typical statistics are given in Table 52. Colin and 
Dieffenbacher believe that reliability should always be compaled 
from the narrative and deposition combined, because onh' thus 
can differences in the two forms of report l)e eliminated. 

TABLE 52 
Dependence of Report on its Form (Stern and Borst) 





RANGE 


ACCURACY 




Narrative 


Deposition 


Narrative 


Deposition 


Stern 


25.5 
40.5 


52.1 
65.6 


Per cent. 

94 

89 


Per cent. 
67.1 


Borst — 


83.0 







Note. — In comparing these figures, it should be remembered that Stern 
used an incomplete, and Borst a complete interrogatory. 



According to Ereukink, the use of written instead of oral re- 
ports apparently tends to increase the number of indefinite an- 
vswers, but to decrease the number of erroneous answers. 

(12) Dependence on the type of question. The work of 
Stern, Lipmann, Kinet and others shows that the introduction 
of leading or suggestive questions decidedly decreases the accu- 
racy of report in children and may affect seriously the testimony 
of uncultured adults, or even of competent adults unless the con- 
ditions are favorable. Stern (33) estimates 50 per cent, error 
for 7-year-old children and 20 per cent, error for 18-year-old >8"s 
in replies to suggestive questions. Most experimenters have 
found women less resistant to suggestive questions than men. 
Cohn and Dieffenbacher find relatively slight differences in 
the suggestibility of boys and girls, though the boys tend, on the 
whole, to take a somewhat more critical attitude. They find that 



TEST 32: FIDELITY OF REPORT [403] 37 

the decrease in suggestibility with age is more marked in girls 
than in boys, and that greater suggestibility in dull as compared 
with bright pupils is evident in girls, but not in boys. These 
investigators call attention to the fact that a suggestive question 
that is introduced too abruptly (so that its very form attracts 
attention) is apt to arouse immediate resistance. 

(13) Dependence on contents or features. Not all the fea- 
tures of the original experience are reported with the same fre- 
quency or with the same accuracy. In general, we may say that 
persons and their acts, objects, things and spatial relations are 
reported with considerable accuracy (85-90 per cent.), whereas 
secondary features, especially quantities and colors, are reported 
with considerable inaccuracy (reports on color have an error of 
from 40 to 50 per cent.) In his subsidiary test with geometrical 
forms of different shapes, sizes and colors, Dallenbach found the 
errors most frequent with color, next with position, next with 
size, and least Avith shape, and this regardless of time-interval. 
Of the colors, errors were most frequent with green and least 
frequent with yellow tone. On the reliability of different 
classes of /S's with respect to different features, see further the 
tables of Cohn and Dieft'enbacher (11a, pp. 86f.). 

(14) Dependence on the ideational type of the reporter. The 
best reports are given by observers of a mixed ideational type, 
e. g., acoustic-motor or visual-motor (Borst) : even in a picture- 
test, the purely visual-minded observer is inferior, though less 
open to suggestion (Lobsien). 

A characteristic analysis of reports, for the piu'pose of classifying re- 
porters Into ideational types has been given in the description-of-an-object 
test (No. .31), in "which Binet distingnishes four types of reporter — the 
obsei'ver, the describer. the emotionally-minded, and the erudite. Miss 
Borst was unable to use this classifieation, however, with her »S''s. 

Another classification of reporters according to mental type was at- 
tempted by Miss Borst, who, after a preliminary tachistoscopic test, com- 
pared the reports of 'fixating' and 'fluctuating' iS"s, and concluded that -S"s 
whose attention is of the 'fixating' type have uniformly the greater war- 
ranted assurance of report. There was no relationship found with extent 
of report. 

(15) Qualitative analysis of errors. Stern finds four kiuds 
of errors in the narrative: (a) errors of apprehension (observa- 

. tion), like overlooking, misapprehending, underestimating, over- 



38 [404] DESCRIPTION AND REPORT 

estimating, etc. ; {h ) real errors of mernorv, like forgetting, fill- 
ing in of gaps, gradual amplification, etc.; (c) errors of imagi- 
nation, 'retouching' the recollection, unintentional blending of 
imagined experiences with the one reported, or the harmless 
'playing' with the report [Fahulieren) often seen in children, 
and (d) errors of judgment (will), like lack of caution or self- 
criticism. 

Schultz (29) has also attempted a qualitative analysis of the 
material gathered by Aall in an event test. The following are 
the main points upon which stress is laid : 

(a) Whether an item is reported depends both upon the mental state 
at the moment and also upon the objective complex in which the item 
occurs. Attention is attracted by novelty and by the logical significance 
of the impression. 

(&) But there is a certain 'spread' of attention such that details that 
are trivial and accessory may also be included with those that yS Is aiming 
to observe. 

(c) The novel attracts attention, but it is also difficult to observe cor- 
rectly. Optimal conditions are given when a familiar thing (easy to 
understand) is in an unfamiliar setting (motive of novelty). 

(d) An event which suddenly breaks into consciousness and disturbs 
the set of the moment is a source of difficulty until a new adaptation for 
it is secured. 

(e) "Perseveration plays an important role in the mistakes of wit- 
nesses." Its falsifying effect decreases with time, and thus reports that 
are separated by a time-interval from the event may be better than imme- 
diately given reports. 

\, (f) There takes place a process of logical elaboration, the effect of 
which is to em])hasize the kernel of the episode and to minimize unessen- 
tial details (principle of conscious economy). 

(//) This tendency also operates to distort reports so as to make them 
conform to what the witness regards as the natural course of events. Por- 
tions of the episode uuperceived or not understood are filled out or re- 
arranged in accordance with this principle. Characterizations of persons 
especially show this tendency. 

(/t) JMany yS''s show a distinct tendency to embellish or roimd out their 
reports into good literary form, and may thus unwittingly distort their 
statements. 

(0 If the experience moves S emotionally, his reports are strongly col- 
ored and ]uay suffer decided modification, particularly reports upon verbal 
items ( quotations ) . 

( /) Experiments so arranged as to cause S to believe that his report 
is serious and responsible (not a mere classroom test) produce a different 
conscious attitude and reveal the presence of new factors, both inciting 
and inhibitory ; in general, the effect is to augment the value of the 
testimony. 

(Jc) That a witness should be motivated by a desire to awaken a cer- 
tain judgment upon a case need not be an undesirable condition. 



TEST 32 : FIDELITY OP REPORT 



[405] 39 



(16) The effect of repeating a report. When ^ is called 
upon to make his report several times, the effect of this repeti- 
tion is complex, for (1) it tends in part to establish in mind the 
items reported, whether they be true or false, and (2) it tends 
also to induce some departure in the later reports, because these 
are based more upon the memory of the verbal statements of the 
earlier reports than upon the original experience itself, i. e., the 
later reports undergo distortion on account of the flexibility of 
verbal expression. 

si:^ (17) The effect of practise: educahility. On the basis of 
Miss Borst's work (Table 53), St would api>ear that simple prac- 

TABLE 53 
Effect of Practise upon Coefficients of Report (Narrative) (Borst) 



NUMBER OF REPORT (TESt) 



Range 

Accuracy 

Assurance 

Warranted assurance 

Reliability of assurance 

Assured accuracy 

Tendency to oath 

Warranted tendency to oath__ 
Unwarranted tendency to oath- 
Reliability of oath 



I 


II 


III 


IV 


39.0 


39.0 


42.3 


40.3 


86.6 


87.7 


92.9 


88.2 


96.6 


96.4 


97.8 


97.9 


84.0 


87.0 


91.0 


88.0 


87.5 


89.4 


92.6 


89.8 


97.0 


98.0 


98.4 


98.6 


43.0 


59.8 


62.8 


61.9 


40.2 


53.2 


58.5 


57.5 


2.8 


6.6 


4.3 


4.4 


93.0 


88.8 


92.5 


93.0 



42.0 
90.0 
98.6 
89.0 
90.3 
99.2 
72.1 
66.5 
5.6 
91.7 



I 



Note. — The effect of practise in these tests is somewhat obscured by the 
fact that the tirst and third tests were made after a 3-day, the others after 
a 9-day interval. 

tise, without special coaching or conscious effort to improve, 
facilitates the report. ) In her work it will be noted that the 
tendency to oath and^warranted tendency to oath are both par- 
ticularly improved, while there is appreciable improvement in 
the other coefficients, save assurance and assured accuracy. On 
the other hand, some doubt is cast upon generalizations from 
Miss Borst's work by the reports made by Baade and Lipmann 
for the Commission of the Institute for Applied Psychology ap- 
pointed especially to investigate this problem of the educability 



40 [406] DESCRIPTION AND REPOPvT 

of report. Baade shows that with regard to reports made upon 
verbal statements (quotations) the ^"s (196 girls, aged 12-13 
years) shoAved no demonstrable improvement, either as a result 
of the threefold repetition of each experiment (physical labo- 
ratory demonstrations) or as a result of the succession of three 
different experiments. There was an influence of earlier upon 
later experiments, but this influence was sometimes favorable 
and sometimes unfavorable. Lipmann, who scored the estimates 
of duration and size, found, on the whole, some improvement in 
these estimates due to the succession of experiments, but only a 
\evy slight improvement due to the repetition of given experi- 
ments. 

Other experimenters have reported results more nearly in 
accord with Miss Borst's conclusions. Breukink, for instance, 
found that if >S"s are allowed to see the picture after reporting, 
the practise increases fidelity of report, especially in the deposi- 
tion and in resistance to suggestive questions. Again, the very 
interesting Metliode der Entscheidungs- tind Bestimungsfragen 
(questions in form of : ^'Do jon know thus and so?" and ''What 
is thus and so?" respectively) has led Franken to declare that 
such training as this method induces, causes an improved cau- 
tiousness in asserting positive knowledge. 

Other experiments by Marie Diirr-Borst (1906) indicate that 
improvement in the capacity of children may be best secured by 
appeal to zeal, interest, enthusiasm and desire for improvement, 
Avhereas more formal training of an intellectual type — sugges- 
tions for systematic observation, specific training in sense-per- 
ception, etc. — is much less effective. 

REFERENCES 

A. The most important single source is Stern's Beitragc zur Psychol- 
Ofjie der Aussage, Leipzig. 1903-6. Laclc of space forbids the Itemizing of 
tlae numerous titles : besides extended reviews, communications, reports 
of lectures, etc., this periodical contains important articles by Stern, .Jaffa, 
Cramer, Lobsien, Lipmann, Borst, Bogdanoff, Rodenwaldt, Oppenheim, 
Kosog. Wendriner, Giinthei", Gottschalk, and others. 

B. The following are other important references. See especially Nos. 
11, 21, 32, .34 and 35 for bibliographies and general reviews. The new 
literature is summarized annually in PftBii. 

(1) W. Baade, Aussage tiber physikalische Demonstrationen. (Mit 
besonderer Beriicksichtigung der Frage der Erziehbarkeit der Aussage.) 



TEST 32 : FIDELITY OP REPORT [407] 41 

1 Abli. Die Metliodik cler Yersuclie imd die lulialte der Textaussagen. 
ZAiKjFs, 4 : 1911, 189-311. 

(2) A. Baginsky, Die Kiiideranssage vor Gericbt. Berlin, 1910. Pp. 41. 

(3) A. Biuet, La suggestibilite. Paris, 1900. Pp. 391. 

(4) A. Binet, La science clu temoignage. Aid's, 11: 1904 (1905), 
128-137. 

(5) A. Binet. Psycbologie individnelle. La description d'uu objet. 
AiiPs, 3: 1S9G (1897), 29G-332. 

(G) E. G. Boring, Capacity to report upon moving, pictures as condi- 
tioned by age and sex. To appear probably in PsRev. 

(7) Marie Borst. Recbercbes experimentelles sur I'educabilite et la 
fidelite dii temoignage. ArPs{f), 3 : 1904, 233-314. 

(8) Marie Diirr-Borst, Die Erziebung der Aussage luid Anscbauung 
des Scbnlkindes. EPd, 3 : 190G, 1-30. 

(9) M. Borst et E. Claparede, La fidelite et I'educabilite du temoig- 
nage. A)x-h. des sciences pliysiques et iiatwclles, April 7, 1904. 

(10) H. Breukink, Ueber die Erziebbarkeit der xUissage. ZAvgPs, 3: 
1909, 32-87. 

(11) E. Claparede, Psycbologie du temoignage. (General review.) 
ArPs(f), 9: 1910, 228-232. 

(11a) J. Cobn und J. Dieffenbacber, Untersucbungen tiber Gescb- 
lecbts-. Alters- und Begabungs-Unterschiede bei Schiilern. Beihefte zur 
ZAugPs, 2: 1911. Pp. 213. 

Q2) K. M. Dallenbacb, (a) Tbe relation of memory error to time- 
interval. PsR,2Q: 1913,323-337. (&) Tbe effect of practise upon visual 
apprebension in scbool cbildren. JEdPs, 5 : 1914, 321-334, 387-404. 

(13) J. Dauber, Die Gleicbformigkeit des psycbiscben Gescbebens und 
die Zeugenaussagen. FsPs, 1 : 1912, 83-131. 

(14) E. Duprce, Le temoignage: etude psycbologique et medico-legale. 
Rev. d. deux. Blondes, 55 : 1910, 343-370. 

(15) A. Franken, («) Ueber die Erziebbarkeit der Erinnei'rungs- 
aussage bei Schulkindern. ZPdPs, 12: 1911, 63-5-642. (b) Aussage- 
versucbe nacb der ]Metbode der Entsclieidungs- und Bestimmungsfrage 
bei Erwacbsenen unci Kindern. ZAngPs, 6 : 1912, 174-253. 

(16) li. B. Gerland, Zur Frage der Zeugeuaussage. Arkr, 39: 1910, 
llG-119. 

(17) II. Gross, Zur Frage der Zeugeuaussage. ArKr, 36: 1910, 372- 
382. 

(18) T. Hegge, Zur Frage der Bewertung von Aussagen bei Bildver- 
sucben. ZAiigPs, 6 : 1912, 51-59. 

(19) R. Heindl, Die ZuverUissigkeit von Signalamentsaussage bei 
Scbulkindern. ArKr, 43 : 1909, 109-132. 

(20) S. Jaffa, Ein psycbologiscbes Experiment im kriminalistisehen 
Seminar der Uuiversitat Berlin. Beitrdge zur Psych, der Aussage, 1 : 
1903, 79-99. 

(21) O. Lipmann, Neuere Arbeiten zur Psycbologie der Aussage: 
Sammelbericbt. JPsN, 3 : 1904, 245-2-19. 

f22) O. Lipmann, Die Wirlaing der Suggestivfragen. ZPdPs,S: 1900, 
89-90. 

(23) O. Lipmann, Die Wirkung v. Suggestivfragen. ZAngPs, 1: 1907- 
1908, 44-92, 382-415, .504-546 ; 2 : 1908, 198-242. Also publisbed separately, 
Leipzig, 1909. 

(24) O. Lipmann, Pedagogical psycbology of report. JEdPs, 2: 1911, 
253-261. 

(25) M. Lobsien, Ueber Psycb. der. Aussage. ZPdPs, 6: 1904, 161-209. 



42 [408] DESCRIPTION AND REPORT 

(2G) L. Maurei", Beobaohtungeu iiber das Anschauungsvermogen cler 
Kinder. ZPclPs, 5 : 1903, 62-85. 

(27) II. Miinsterberg, On the witness stand. N. Y., 1908. Pp. 265. 
(The several sections of tliis boolv have also appeared in magazine form, 
chiefly iu McChn-e's Magazine.) 

(28) de Placzek, Experimentelle Untersuchungen iiber die Zeugen- 
aussagen Scliwachsinniger. ArJtr, 18 : 1904, 22-6.3. 

(29) G. Schultz, Znr Aiissagepsycliologie : Prinzipielle Ei'ortermigen 
im A]isc]iluss an ein zweifaches Experiment. ZAngFs, 7 : 1913, 5-17-574. 

(30) C. und W. Stern, Erinnerung, Aussage und Liige in der ersten 
Kindheit. Leipzig, 1909. Pp. 160. 

(31) W. Stern, Zur Psychologic der Aussage. Experimentelle Unter- 
suchungen iiber Erinnerungstreue. Zeils. f. d. ges. Strafrechtioissen- 
schaft, 22: 1902. (Also published separately, Berlin, 1902.) 

(32) W. Stern, (a)Literatur zm* Psj^chologie der Aussage. ZAngPs, 
1: 1907-8, 429-450. {'b) Bibliographie zur Psychologie der Aussage, 1908- 
1910. ZAngPs, 4: 1911, 378-381. (c) Psychologie der Aussage, 1911- 
1913. ZAnyPs, 7: 1913, 577-596. 

(33) W. Stern, Abstracts of lectures on the psychology of testimony. 
AiJtJPs, 21 : 1910, 270-275. 

(34) G. M. Whipple, The observer as reporter: a survey of the 'psy- 
chology of testimony.' PsBu,6: 1909,153-170. (Also amiual summaries 
of literature on the topic, PsBii, 1910 on.) 

(35) J. II. Wigmore, Professor Miinsterberg and the psychology of 
evidence. Illinois Law Review, 3: Feb., 1909, 399-445 (with bibliog- 
raphy of 127 titles). 

(36) A. Wreschner, Zur Psych, d. Aussage. ArOcsPs, 1: 1905, 
148-183. 



CHAPTER IX 

Tests of Association^ Learning^ and Memory 

A generation ago, the members of the 'English School' of psy- 
chologists exalted 'association' as a fundamental principle or 
law of mind comparable in its scope and importance with the 
law of gravitation in the material world. Whether this extreme 
position be held or not, it must be admitted that the more com- 
plex phases of mental activity are more readily understood if 
certain basic conditions of mental elaboration are posited, par- 
ticularly the conditions: attention, retention, and association. 
Disregarding the first of these, which we have already discussed, 
we find in retention the sine qua non of the development of 
human mental activity, and we find constantly at work in the 
conscious life of the organism a tendency for the establishment 
of connections between its concurrent and its successive psj'cho- 
physical activities. In so far as the conscious organism acquires 
new capacities for response, there must be retention and organ- 
ization, liearning, retaining, recalling, associating, these are 
terms obviously descriptive of a series of related activities, and 
on this account, tests which deal with them are here assembled. 

Association and memory, taken together, have undoubtedly 
been the occasion of more numerous and more elaborate experi- 
mental investigations than anj'- other phase of mental life. 
Learning, in the narrower sense, has, perhaps, received some- 
what less attention, though of late the importance of its appli- 
cation to pedagogical problems has stimulated work upon it. 

The experimental study of associative activity can be, and has 
been, undertaken for quite varied purposes, e. g., to examine the 
time relations of mental phenomena, to study individual differ- 
ences in thought-processes, as conditioned by age, sex, training, 
physical condition, and the like, to analyze the diurnal curve of 
psychophysical efficiency (as in Kraepelin's use of computa- 
tion), to diagnose mental content, and even to reveal obscure 

[409] 43 



44 [410] ASSOCIATION^ LEARNING AND MEMORY 

mental tendencies and motives or intentionally' withheld infor- 
mation (diagnostic association tests). Space forbids the ex- 
I>loitation of all the tests that have been developed in these 
fields, but a study of the more common tests of learning, associa- 
tion and memory that have been selected for treatment here as 
being most applicable to the experimental study of school chil- 
dren will serve to indicate the lines along which variant meth- 
ods may be developed and employed. 

The earlier tests in this chapter investigate the nature and 
efficiency of those associative connections that the subject has 
already established at the time of the test, either when the asso- 
ciative processes are allowed free rein (uncontrolled associa- 
tion) or when they are placed under certain restrictions (con- 
trolled association). The tests of learning that follow investi- 
gate the subject's capacity to establish new associative connec- 
tions, under relatively novel conditions. The memory tests, in 
a soinew^hat different way, investigate his retentive capacity or 
his ability to reproduce a series of symbols or a series of related 
ideas. The classification of tests of association, learning and 
memory is, of course, somewhat rough; it is difficult to draw 
sharp distinctions between each type or to delimit precisely the 
mental processes that are brought into operation, as is illus- 
trated, for example, in the obvious overlapping of tests of 
memory, of memory-span, of report, of range of attention and 
range of apprehension. 

TEST 33 

Uncontrolled association — continuous method. — The essence of 
this test is the requirement to write or pronounce an extended 
series of words not in the form of sentences. Our interest lies, 
first, in the difference of facility exhibited by different ^'s in the 
production of such a series of terms; secondly, in the nature of 
the terms given by S's of different sex, age, or social condition ; 
and thirdly, in the nature of the mental processes underlying the, 
word-naming process. 

Cattell and Bryant (4) make brief mention of the test; Jas- 
trow (6, 7), and later Miss Nevers (10), Miss Calkins (3), Miss 



TEST 33 : UNCONTROLLED ASSOCIATION [411] 45 

Tanner (11) and Miss Manchester (8), employed it for the study 
of the couimnnit.y of ideas of men and women, Flournoy (5) for 
the study of the effect of environment, present and immediately 
past, upon the course of association, and Binet (1) for the study 
of individual differences in intellectual processes. In a modified 
form (test of 60 words in 3 min.) it appears in the Binet-Simon 
Scale (Ch. XIII). 

Materials. — Stop-watch. Blank forms containing numbered 
spaces for 100 words. [The seconds-clock.] 

Method.— Give <S^ these instructions: '"When I say 'now,' I 
want you to start in with some word, any one you like, and keep 
on saying words as fast as you can until you have given a hun- 
dred different words. You maj^ give any words you like, but they 
must not be in sentences. I will tell you when to stop." E starts 
the stop-watch at the comiuand 'now' and writes on the prepared 
form the words sj>oken by S. With mature >Sf's, it may be pos- 
sible to get nothing more than scant abbreviations for the more 
rapid portions of the series, but these may be filled out subse- 
quently. The points at which S makes distinct pauses maj" be 
noted on the form. At the 100th word, stop the watch and record 
the time. If time permits, and /S* can do so, it is advisable at 
once to go over his series, not only to fill out the list of terms, 
but also to make marginal notes of all the intermediate links and 
subsidiary associative ijrocesses that he can recall. 

Variations of Method. — (1) For group tests, E should pro- 
vide each (S with a blank. He may allow 3 min. for writing, and 
rate speed in terms of number of words written (method fol- 
lowed by Pyle, 10), or each S may record his own time for 
writing 100 words by the aid of the seconds-clock for group tests. 
The latter procedure is recommended rather than the former. 
"When aS" does the writing, the method resembles that of the users 
of it discussed below, but the standard method of oral naming 
is best. 

(2) Instruct aS' to keep his eyes closed during the test. This 
variant is to be preferred for individual testing, at least with 
adults ; its effect is commonly to reduce the speed of naming and 
to lessen the number of terms suggested by objects visible in the 
room where the test is administered. 



46 [412] ASSOCIATION, LEARNING AND MEMORY 

(3) Vary the test by demanding short lists, say of 20 words 
each, referring to the several categories indicated in the table 
which follows, e. g., ''Name words pertaining to clothing." 
''Name abstract terms." "Name adjectives," etc. Note the time 
needed for each such list. 

(4) E niay omit the instruction to write or to speak as rap- 
idly as possible, and allow 8 to work at his leisure. This method, 
which was followed by Miss Nevers, is perhaps more satisfactory 
for the subsequent qualitative report upon the series, but de- 
prives the test of whatever quantitative merits it possesses, be- 
sides tending to yield results of a distinctly different nature that 
are not comi)arable with those otherwise obtained. 

(5) When working with j'ounger >S"s, E may Avith advantage 
limit the length of the series. Thus, Flournoy demanded but 10 
words, while Binet recorded tlie time for three series of 20 words 
each, and occupied the intervals in reviewing with 8 the terms 
of the preceding series. This method is less fatiguing, and en- 
ables immature S'^ to give a more satisfactory account of their 
associative connections, but it does not test /Sf's capacity as 
rigorously as the longer list. 

(6) E may secure a very limited measure of uniformity in 
the earlier portion of the series by starting all >S"s from the same 
word. For this, the words quich and play are recommended. 
Here it is of interest to observe the lines of divergence in asso- 
ciation taken by different ^'s. 

(7) Another variation is that of Flournoy, who, in addition 
to the word test, gave 45 >S's instructions to make 10 drawings 
of any sort. 

Treatment of Data. — In the standard form of test, ^'s speed 
is indicated directly by his time for naming 100 words. In the 
group test, it is customary, similarly, to rate ^'s speed in terms 
of words written in 3 min. It is not possible, however, to regard 
the times obtained from these two forms of the test as inter- 
changeable, since the second form includes writing and this, as 
is demonstrated below, tends, even in the case of mature /S"8, to 
slow the rate of performance. In so far, too, as ^'s differ in their 
speed of writing, this fact enters as an unavoidable disturbing 
factor in the group test. 



TEST 33 : UNCONTROLLED ASSOCIATION [4:13] 47 

For qualitative comparison of the lists, E may, by inspection, 
supplemented by S's, explanation, catalog the words, either in 
the 7 categories used by Binet, or in the 25 categories used by 
Jastrow, Miss Nevers and Miss Manchester. Both classifications 
are embodied in the results below. 

Results. — (1) Some idea of the relation between perform- 
ance in the group test (words tvritten in 3 min.) and age and 
sew ill normal ^'s may be secured from the averages published 
by Pyle for a limited number of cases and under less precise in- 
structions than those above recommended. These results are set 
forth in Table 54, where it will be observed that on the whole 
the number of words increases Avith age year by year, and that 
girls at nearly ever}- age somewhat excel boys in their scores. 



TABLE 54 

Words Written in Three Minutes by Normal CJiildren (Pyle) 



SEX 


AGE 


8 


9 


10 


11 


12 


13 


14 


15 16 


17 


18 


ADULT 


Male 


Cases 


33 60 


66 


66 


77 'so 


57 


38 


36 


16 


21 


64 


Male 


Aver 


23.0 


26.9 


29.7 


33.3 


34.2 33.9 


33.3 40.0 


33.3 


42.8 


48.9 


42.2 


Male 


Av. Dev 


7.5 


7.6 


9.0 


11.4 


10.9 


14.6 


13.2 


14.8 


14.6 


12.3 


16.6 


13.8 


Pern 


Cases 


37 


82 


88 


65 


90 


66 


61 


46 


46 


38 


29 


86 


Fern 


Aver 


23.7 


31.0 32.2 36.8 36.6 38.3 


39.1140.2 


40.9 41.6:47.1 


38.3 


Fern 


Av. Dev 


8.2 


8.9jl0.8 12.1 15.416.8 


12.9 13.8 


14.1 14.0|13.9 


13.1 



(2) In tests of college students the average time for writing 
100 words ranges between 5 and 6 min. Jastrow reports an 
average of 130 sec. for oral and 308 sec. for written lists of this 
length. Since writing an equal number of words from dictation 
took 212 sec, he concludes that about 1.14 sec. was used, on the 
average, in thinking the association between one word and the 
next. 

(3) Table 55, derived from Wallin's studies of mentally de- 
fective epileptics (12), shows that the test of uncontrolled asso- 
ciation (here the number of words spoken in 3 min. under cer- 
tain special instructions necessitated by the nature of the S's) 
is of some value for mental classification, since the average re- 



48 [414] ASSOCIATION^, LEARNING AND MEMORY 

suits show a steady increase with increase in mental age 
(Binet-Simon diagnosis) when due allowance is made for the 
small number of oases tested in certain aaes. 



TABLE 55 

Words Uttererl in Three Minutes l)y Einleptics (WaUin) 



Binet-Simon Age 


VI 


VII 


VIII 


IX 


X 


X] 


XII 


XIII 


Average Words Spoken- 


16.0 


25.5 


21.5 


33.4 


43.6 


51.3 


59.9 


65.0 



(4) Inspection of the lists printed both hj Jastrow and by 
Binet shows that 8's follow what might be termed a series of 
themes: a number of terms are written, all of which cluster 
about a common central idea ; through one of these terms access 
is given to a new central idea, which in turn becomes a theme 
for the next series of terms. Thus, in the series liand, face, lip, 
chest, Icnees, calf, cow, horse, pig, etc., the transition from the 
parts-of-the-body theme to the animal theme is effected by the 
common term calf. 

(5) In some ^"s, the controlling theme is an auditory se- 
quence, which occasions long series of rimed or alliterative 
terms, e. g., run, pun, fun, etc., or hen, hand, head, harp, etc. 

(6) In this test, the most common tvords, i. e.^ those most 
easily got at, or those that lie, as it were, on the surface, are 
given first. After these are delivered, the task grows more diffi- 
cult; deeper and more remote-lying terms must be actively 
sought for. Closely related to this is the fact that, at least in 
the lists of younger aS"s, practically all the terms are nouns.^ 
This is particularly the case in the short series conducted by 
Binet, so -that, as he remarks, the test, as he conducted it, is 
virtually equivalent to a request to write 20 common nouns. 

(7) In vieAv of the vast number of words available, it is at 
first surprising to note the degree of community present in lists 



-Cliildrcu often interpret the instructions to mean tliat only nouns are 
wanted. If E stops to explain that other parts of speech are permissible, 
the result is sometimes more confusing yet, as they may then seek to name 
some of every part of speech. 



TEST 33 : UNCONTROLLED ASSOCIATION [415] 49 

of 100 terms given by a limited number of persons. Tlius, Jas- 
trow found tliat in 50 lists (5000 words), only 2024 words were 
different, only 126G words occurred but once, while the 100 most 
frequent Avords made up three-tenths of the whole number. 

These most frequent words are, as has just been said, names 
of common objects : in Jastrow^'s 50 lists, the following were the 
most frequently used words: hook (40), horse (37), girl (35), 
man (34), hoy (33), tahlc (30); then follow chair^ tree, coio, 
paper, dress, etc., in somewhat lesser frequency 

(8) For the classification of the words given by 20 12-year- 
old pupils, Binet found seven categories adequate, viz.: [a) 
names of objects in the room where the test was held, (&) parts 
of the person or clothes, (o) objects or persons in the school, {(I) 
objects recalled from the home, (e) objects seen in the streets 
(horse, tree), (f) objects seen in fields or on country excursions, 
{g) unclassified nouns. Here there is no place for abstract 
terms, many of which were found in series given by American 
pupils in Jastrow's tests. Jastrow's own classification is indi- 
cated in Table 48, where it Avill be seen that his 25 categories 
are much more elaborate and extended than those employed by 
Binet. 

(9) Dependence on sex. The question as to sex difference 
in spontaneous trains of ideas such as are evoked in this test has 
been answered differently by the tests conducted at different 
institutions. The comparison of Wisconsin men and Wisconsin 
women was made by Jastrow, the 1894 test of Wellesley women 
by Miss Nevers and with no instruction as to speed, the 1890 
test of W^ellesley women by Miss Calkins 1)ut with the same in- 
structions as those of Jastrow, the test of 75 men and 75 women 
at the University of California in 1905 by Miss Manchester after 
Jastrow's method. The categories of particular interest are 
those printed in italics. Jastrow's results in this and other tests 
led him to believe that "women repeat one another's words much 
more than the men." He found that "the class lo which women 
contribute most largely is that of articles of dress, one word in 
every eleven belonging to this class. The inference from this 
that dress is the predominant category of the feminine (or of the 



50 [416] ASSOCIATION, LEARNING AND MEMORY 

privy feminine) mind is valid with proper reservations." Since 
the women exceed the men in the enumeration also of foods, 
amusements, arts, and educational matters, but fall below them 
in naming implements and utensils, professions, and especially 
in abstract terms, Jastrow concludes, ''that the feminine traits 
revealed in this study are an attention to the immediate sur- 
roundings, to the finished product, to the ornamental, the indi- 
vidual, and the concrete, while the masculine preference is for 
the more remote, the constructive, the useful, the general, and 
the abstract" (6; pp. 5G4-5) . Most of these conclusions are flatly 
opposed hj the Wellesley results of 1894, but the employment of 
Jastrows' methods in the 1896 test produced less marked diver- 
gencies. It is particularly to be noted that writing at a faster 
rate (1896 test) caused a marked decrease in the number of ab- 
stract terms, and brought the terms relating to 'interior furnish- 
ings' up even beyond those of the Wisconsin women ; on the other 
hand, the frequency of terms for 'wearing apparel' was not 
affected by this change in method. 

The three sets of 25 lists each (25 men and 25 women) pro- 
cured by IMiss Manchester at California show complete agree- 
ment with Jastrow's results in the following aspects : men lead 
in naming (1) verbs, (2) implements and utensils, (3) occupa- 
tions; women lead in naming (1) wearing apparel, (2) build- 
ings and building materials,- (3) interior furnishings, (4) edu- 
cational terms, (5) arts, and (6) amusements. Miss Manchester 
generalizes these differences as follows: (1) "The dynamic 
aspect of objects is more attractive to men, while the static or 
completed aspect appeals more to women." (2) "Time as a 
factor enters more largely into the surface ideas of men ; space 
is more often a prominent feature of the surface ideas of 
women." (3) "Men are interested in far-reaching relations ex- 
isting between things ; women give more attention to the minute 
analysis of things themselves." (4) ''The range of the surface 
ideas of men, as a group, is slightly greater than that of women." 



-In explanation of tliis seemingly unusual superiority of the women it 
sliould be said that the things named are not distinctive building mate- 
rials or operations, like mortar, cement, mortising, etc., but such common 
terms as floor, door, gate, church, etc. 



TEST 33 : UNCONTROLLED ASSOCIATION [417] 51 



TABLE 56 

DistriMition of Terms hi 'Uncontrolled' Association (Jastrow, Nevers, 
Calkins, Manchester) 

{Each: column represents 25 lists of 100 words each. Those from Cali- 
fornia are based upon 15 lists reduced to the same basis.) 



CATEGORIES 







< 


< 




m 

Z 


z 

mZ 
Z g 


z 
o 


og 


Hoo 

m - 
H Z 


oz 




fe z 


feS 


3 H 


J2§ 


o o 






H O 


^ 


^ 


^^ 



Hoo 

tn - 
W Z 

►J s 
w o 



1. Animal kingdom 

2. Wearing apparel and f abrics- 

3. Proper names 

4. Verbs 

5. Implements and utensils 

6. Interior furnishings 

7. Adjectives 

8. Foods 

9. Vegetable kingdom 

10. Abstract terms ^ 

11. Buildings and building ma- 

terials 

12. Parts of body 

13. Miscellaneous 

14. Geographical and landscape 

features 

15. Mineral kingdom 

16. Meteorological and astro- 

nomical 

17. Stationery 

18. Occupations and callings— 

19. Conveyances 

20. Educational 

21. Other parts of speech 

22. Arts 

23. Amusements 

24. Mercantile terms 

25. Kinship 



254 


178 


214 


187 


146 


129 


224 


82 


118 


97 


194 


153 


84 


92 


81 


197 


134 


302 


258 


279 


169 


121 


115 


82 


139 


89 


190 


90 


119 


212 


177 


102 


208 


266 


300 


53 


179 


81 


78 


88 


121 


110 


83 


90 


101 


131 


97 


113 


101 


101 


105 


117 


121 


140 


86 


101 


105 


91 


62 


66 


91 


97 


197 


180 


123 


97 


80 


102 


114 


70 


74 


96 


96 


58 


30 


85 


76 


86 


87 


109 


60 


86 


58 


54 


69 


71 


47 


60 


35 


24 


62 


52 


44 


50 


19 


34 


76 


59 


74 


102 


96 


5 


108 


103 


164 


33 


61 


59 


79 


17 


30 


53 


25 


45 


17 


30 


29 


13 


14 


18 


17 


32 


9 


12 


42 



223 
96 
141 
114 
132 

84 

234 

56 

91 

280 



106 

34 

162 

142 
54 



26 
26 
33 
79 
167 

41 

44 

102 

15 

18 



Burt and Moore repeated Jastrow's test both Avith children 
and adults of both sexes, with results that roughly confirm Jas- 
trow's. "The females are more personal and subjective iu their 
interests; the males are more impersonal and objective. . . . 



52 [418] ASSOCIATION^ LEARNING AND MEMORY 

^Vomen alter their theuies and topics far more frequently than 
men; men, on the other hand, show a greater variety of associa- 
tive connections between one idea and another within the same 
theme. The course of ideas is also more frequently disturbed 
in women by the various signs of 'complexes' (systems of asso- 
ciated ideas characterized b}^ strong emotional colorings)." 

These discrepancies raise the issue, as Miss Tanner has 
pointed out, whether this test can be expected to reveal funda- 
mental native diilt'erences in mental constitution of the two sexes, 
or whether it reveals merely acquired traits, social traditions, 
individual habits, educational and other environmental influ- 
ences. The lists written by college students might be expected, 
for example, to be considerably affected by their recent occupa- 
tions, courses of study pursued at the time, etc. 

The more direct comparison of the speed of the two sexes in 
naming terms of different kinds which we have suggested (Vari- 
ation of Method, 3) does not appear to have been attempted by 
any of these investigators. 

(10) This influence of environment upon the lists of associa- 
tions is indicated particularly in Flournoy's brief tests (10 
words and 10 drawings), the results of which are summarized in 
Table 57. 

TABLE 57 

Influences that Affect 'VncontrolJcd' Series of Words or Drawings 

(Flournoy) 





DRAWINGS 


WORDS 


Traced to present surroundings 


Per cent. 

13.8 
1.9 


Per cent. 
29.0 


Traced to the immediate past 


8.2 






Due to the milieu 


15.7 

2.4 

39.2 


37.2 


Traced to recent personal experiences 

Traced to personal habits 


3.9 
9.2 






Expressing individuality 


41.6 
42.7 


13.1 


Unexplained 


49.7 







TEST 33a : UNCONTROLLED ASSOCL\TION [419] 53 

REFERENCES 

(1) A. Biuet, L'etucle experimentale de riutelligence. Taris, 1903. 
I'l). 309. Especially chs. ii to iv. 

(2) C. Biu-t and R. C. IMoore, The uieutal differences between the 
sexes. JEFd, 1 : 19 12, 273-2S4, 355-388. 

(3) Mary W. Calkins, Comnumity of ideas of men and women. PsR, 
3 : 1S9G, 420-430. 

(4) J. jNIcK. Cattell and Sophie Bryant. Mental association investi- 
gated by experiment. Miml, 14 : 1889, 230-250. 

(5) Th. Flouruoy, De Taction du milieu sur I'ideation. AnPs, 1 : 1894 
(1895), 180-190. 

(G) J. Jastrow. A study in mental statistics, isleio lieuiciv, 5: 1891. 
559-568. 

(7) J. JastroAT, Community of ideas of men and women. PsR, 3: 
1890, G8-71, 430-1. 

(8) Genevieve S. jManchester, Experiments on the nnreflective ideas 
of men and women. PsR, 12 : 1905, 50-66. 

(9) Cordelia Nevers, Dr. Jastrow on community of ideas of men and 
women. PsR, 2 : 1895, 363-7. 

(10) W. H. Pyle, The examination of school children. New York, 
1913. Pp. 70, especially 24-27. 

(11) Amy Tanner, The community of ideas of men and women. PsR, 
3 : 1896, 548-5.50. 

(12) J. E. W. Wallin, Experimental studies of mental defectives. 
EdPsMon, No. 7, Baltimore, 1912. Pp. 155. 



TEST 33A 

Uncontrolled association — discrete method (Kent-Rosanoff 
test). — This test resembles the preceding one in that it deals 
with association of the free, unrestricted or uncontrolled type, 
but it differs from it in that *S' is called upon to respond with a 
single term on\j to each of a series of words presented by E. 
This form of response has been, of course, the object of an ex- 
traordinary amount of investigation, particularly with refer- 
ence to its time-relations. But in the special arrangement of 
the test developed by Kent and Kosanoff no attempt is made to 
measure the time-relations, and the search for devices for the 
logical classification of the responses (a decidedly prominent 
feature of many laboratory and clinical studies in association) 
is limited to a simple empirical sorting of them into 'common,' 
'doubtful,' and 'individual' responses, on the basis of prepared 
frequency tables. 

Tabulated lists of the frequency with which different re- 
sponses are made to the stimuli presented in association tests 



54 [420] ASSOCIATION, LEARNING AND IVIEMORY 

were constructed by Cattell and Bryant (4) as early as 1889, and 
since then have been developed to some extent by Gertrud Bal- 
ing (20) in 1908, and by Reinhold (16) in 1910, while Bovet 
(1) has outlined several methods by which such tables might 
be handled in figairing a 'coefficient of banality.' Nevertheless, 
the frequency tables published by Grace Kent and A. J. 
Eosanoff (10) in 1910, taken in conjunction with the supple- 
mentary reports upon their applicability made by Eosanoff 
Avith the assistance of Eastman (5) in 1912 and of Isabel 
Eosanoff (18) in 1913 and the recent study by Miss Otis (15), 
constitute so important and well-standardized a development 
of the idea of measuring commonplaceness, or normality of re- 
sponse by means of empirical tables of distribution, as to war- 
rant the introduction of their test as a special and specific 
method of testing association. 

Whether the Kent-Eosauoff test merits the rather extrava- 
gant encomiums that have been awarded it by some writers^ 
appears to me extremely doubtful; it has certainlj^ discarded 
whatever advantages might be secured by resort to introspec- 
tion and to the making of time measurements; it sets up an 
arbitrary standard of normality, valid at best only in the gross 
and when the test is conducted by certain fixed and probably 
far from ideal conditions for exploring individuality in mental 
connections. 

Materials. — Prepared forms comprising a printed list of 
100 stimulus words- with spaces for recording responses, their 
times and their indexes. The Kent-Eosanoff frequency tables. 
[Stop-watch.] 



^Woocl worth and Wells (2.5), for examiole, talk of the free association 
test as having achieved, and being likely to retain, a place "in the fore- 
most rank among the methods of individual psychology," and assert that 
the form of it developed by Kent and Eosanoff gives "perhaps the best 
objective correlate of temperament at present to hand," and that it has 
"established a definite standard of normality" — statements that are hard 
to understand in the light of the results established to date. 

'Sixty-six of these terms are taken from the series published by Sommer 
in his Diagnostifc dcr Geisteslcranlclieiten ; the remainder have been se- 
lected on the basis of preliminary experimentation in such a manner as 
to cover a variety of situations without being especially liable to call up 
personal experiences. 



TEST 33a: uncontrolled association [421] 55 

Method.— Seat aS' in a. room free from distracting influencei^ 
and with bis back to E. Instruct bim as follows : ''I am going 
to read to j^ou, one at a time, a series of 100 words. Just be- 
fore eacb w^ord I sball call out 'ready.' As soon as you bear 
tbe Avord tbat follows tbe 'ready' signal, you are to respond by 
saying tbe first w^ord tbat comes to your mind otber tban tbe 
word tbat I bave just spoken. Your response must be a single 
word, and you must say it just as quickly as you can." 

If S, despite tliese instructions, repeats tbe stimulus word, 
be is cautioned not to do so, and tbe same stimulus is given 
again after several otber stimuli bave been used. If be con- 
tinues to repeat tbe stimulus word during some 25 trials, E 
sbould forego furtber attempts to prevent tbis form of re- 
sponse. If S responds by a sentence or pbrase, a compound 
word or a grammatical variation of tbe stimulus-word, be is 
similarly warned of tbis infringement of tbe instructions, 
and tbe stimulus words are similarly repeated later in tbe test- 
ing. In any event, tbe original response as Avell as tbe subse- 
quent one bad best be noted in tbe record, tbougb tbe second 
ones sbould be used in computing tbe results.^ 

If any response seems incoberent, devoid of any apparent 
connection witb tbe stimulus, ask 8 wby be responded as be 
did, and make a note of bis explanation. 

As tbe test is somewbat wearisome witb cbildren, it is ad- 
visable to introduce a rest-pause of a minute or so after tbe 
50tb word, or even after tbe 25tb, 50tb and 75tb words. 

Variations op Method. — ^(1) Use tbe stop-watcb to measure 
tbe time elapsing between tbe stimulus and tbe response. Start 
tbe watcb just as tbe stimulus is uttered ; stop it wben 8 utters 
bis response; record tbe time in tentbs of a second. Tbis varia- 
tion of metbod is strongly advised, despite tbe reasons advanced 
by Kent and Eosanoff for neglecting tbe measurement of tbe 
association time. Tbe experience of otber users of tbe Kent- 
Rosanoff test sbows tbat tbe times are frequently valuable ad- 
juncts in diagnosis. E must remember, of course, tbat tbe time 



"Willi guite young cliilclren, say 4 or 5 years old, it will be impossible 
to follow tliese iiistrnctions precisely. Thus tbe Rosanoffs (IS) were 
obliged in such cases to i)ermit responses of a sentence form and to take 
tbe main word in tbe sentence as tbe desired single word. 



5G [422] ASSOCIATION; LEARNING AND MEMORY 

does not ahvavs measure the speed of the assoeiation that is 
recorded, since between stimnlus and response more than one 
mental process may intervene Avhich is not reported by ^ and 
which may be quite unrevealed in the word he utters. 

(2) Make the test without instructions for speed, but with 
explicit instructions to adopt a quiet, leisurely attitude in 
which the association is allowed to develop in whatever way it 
niaj'. This method of conducting the association test yields 
responses that often differ widely from those obtained under 
instructions for speed, and it must be understood that the 
coeflScients obtained from the frequency tables then possess no 
necessaiy correspondence with those obtained when the stand- 
ard mfethod is followed. 

(3) Follow the suggestions just cited in Variation 2, with 
the additional proviso that >S may respond by a phrase or com- 
pound word in case that be the first verbal association that 
rises in his mind. It is instructive to compare the responses 
obtained under this Aufgalm with those obtained by the stand- 
ard method. Here, again, the calculated coefficients are not 
directly comparable with those established by Kosanoff with his 
tables and his instructions, though the method is, in the author's 
opinion, a better one for determining the degree of individuality 
in associative tendencies. 

Treatment of Data. — To determine the coefficient of com- 
monplaceness compare the responses for each one of the 100 
terms with the responses listed in the Kent-Eosanoff frequency 
tables; record the several 'index-values,' then average them to 
obtain the coefficient. Thus, if to taMe 8 responds chair ^ the 
index is recorded as 267, because 267 of the 1000 persons tested 
by Kent and Eosanoff gave this response : if the association be 
taMe-horcl, its index is 9; if it be tahle-tlack, the index is 0, 
because no one of the 1000 persons chanced to give that re- 
sponse. The association tahle-hlack and any other association 
which is not found in the frequency tables is termed an indi- 
vklual response, while any association found in the tables, 
whatever its index may be, is termed a common response. Any 
response that is a grammatical variant of a term listed in the 
tables is classed as a doubtful response, e. g., the association 



TEST 33a: uncontrolled association [423J 57 

tahlc-iiil-ij is doubtful since onlj^ taMe-ink is found iu the list 
for that stimulus word. 

The i)ereentage of common, individual and doubtful re- 
sponses are then comi)uted. If no response is obtained (c. (j., 
''nothing," "don't know"), E maj^ find it necessary to add a 
fourth class (''failures") to the three classes just mentioned. 

The term common response is not entirely synonymous with 
the term normal response^ because, obviously, the responses 
gathered from 1000 persons do not exhaust' the possibilities of 
perfectly 'natural' associations. To meet this difficulty Kent 
and Kosanoff have given in their appendix statements that cover 
in a general wa^^ the responses that are to be deemed 'normal' 
for each of the 100 stimulus words and also still more general 
rules to cover associations to any stimulus word. These expla- 
nations (10, pp. 126-142) must be kept in mind whenever the 
question arises whether the responses of a given *S', however 
individual the^- may be, are yet within the bounds of normality. 

In certnin of the words Jn their list this restriction of the indexes to 
those resiioiises actually secured from the 1000 persons occasions a per- 
fectly oljvious and rather unfortunate artificiality. Take, for example, 
the word city (No. 79). As a response to it, 12 different cities have been 
named, and with the most diA'ers frequencies, e. g., New York, 99 ; Cleve- 
land, 1. If >S' chanced to respond IiidianapoUs, he would have to be cred- 
ited with an individual response, index 0. I would suggest that in this 
case all names of cities be counted together and the name of any city be 
given tlie resultant index, 124. Similar situations arise with other stimu- 
lus words, like doctor, square, child, ocean, etc., and with respect to the 
grammatical variants of many of the responses. Thus, for instance, the 
association mun-woinan has an index of 394, that man-v:omcn an index of 
0. There are numerous such cases in which a very slight modification of 
the response alters enormously its index value, so that changes in the 
association which would appear psychologically indifferent remove re- 
s])onses from tlie realm of the commonplace and credit them with indi- 
viduality. 

Another criticism that might be raised against the use of the frequency 
tables in tlie inanner prescribed is that the tendency toward common- 
l)laceness may be almormally raised by the chance giving of a very few 
responses whose index value is unusually high. To give the three re- 
sponses table-chair, dork-lif/ht, fioft-hnrd. alone, will give .S' 10.j9 points of 
commonplaceness, even if he should happen to give an entirely individual 
i-esi)onse to every one of the 97 remaining terms. To meet this difficulty, 
.S"s may be compared simply with respect to the number of common and 
of individual responses they have given, or, as suggested by Bovet. by 
computing as an index of banality the number of terms to which the 
most common response is given and as an index of originality the num- 
lier of unique responses. Still other methods have been suggestetl by 
Bovet. 



58 [-124] ASSOCIATION, LEARNING AND MEMORY 

In addition to computing the coefficient of commonplaceness, 
and the percentage of common, doubtful and individual re- 
sponses and failures, E may attempt a further classification of 
the responses, and, indeed, he will find it quite desirable to 
do so whenever the number of individual responses distinctly 
exceeds the ordinary number, or whenever other features of the 
responses indicate the possibility of some anomaly' in the asso- 
ciative processes. For this purpose the classification and analy- 
sis published by Kent and Eosanoff in conjunction with their 
frequency tables will serve satisfactorily.* 

The following explanation may serve to assist in the use of 
this classification. 

(a1 While couuiion responses are as a rule also normal responses, 
there are certain ones of them that may be termed non-specific responses, 
which, if present to an unusual degree, may have some pathological signifi- 
cance. A non-specific response is one which has so wide an application as 
to be a possible associate for almost any stimulus word, e. p., such nouns 
as tiling, article, ohiect, or such adjec-tives as good, small, useful, pleasant. 

^^"ithin the individual responses, in addition to individual non-specific 
responses (like those just mentioned, but not in the frequency tables), 
there may be distinguished : 

(?>) Responses hp soioul, that lead to neologisms, /. c., construction of 
new words, e. g., man-man ion, anger- Angoria. 

(c) Neologisms without sound relation, as dark-tinhrigJit, deep-dept- 
al)U ness. 

(d) Repetition of the preceding response. 

((') Repetition of a response five times or over (stereotypy), as the 
response parent to the stimuli man. mountain, mutton, sliort, woman, 
cold, etc. 

if) Repetition of the preceding stimulus. 

(g) Response by derivatives, /. e., grammatical variants of the stim- 
ulus word, e. g.. short-shortness, sweet-sweetened. 

(h) Individual non-specific responses. 

(i) Responses l>y sound, but with actual words, e. g., man-manners, 
short-shortliand. 

(/) Word complements, /. e., responses in which an addition to the 
stinuilus word forms a word, name or compound term iu common use, 
G. g., liahy-hood, thirst i/-hlood, green-Paris. 

(Jc) Responses hij particles of speech, as articles, numerals, pronouns, 
auxiliary verbs, adverbs of time, place and degree, conjunctions, preposi- 
tions and interjections, e. g., chair-down, eating-sometimes, soldier-pours, 
whisTiey-no. 

(I) Association to preceding stimulus, meaning a response not foimd 



^The prolonged discussion concerning the most feasible and psycho- 
logically justifiable system of classifying responses iu association tests is 
too lengthy for consideration here. For some account of recent classifica- 
tions the reader may consult Wells (22) and Kelley (9). The idea of Kent 
and Rosanoff has been to forego logical classification in favor of a strictly 
empirical and objective system. 



TEST .j3a : UN(:ONTUOLLED ASSOCIATION [425] 59 

ill the freaiiency tables for the word tliat it follows, but found in them as 
a response for the preceding stiniulns, as in the pair of responses, thief- 
iii(jh t, lion-pockcthoolc. 

{m) Association to yrcrediug rcf<i)onse, meaning a response not found 
in the tables for the word that it follows, Init found in them as a response 
to the response given for the preceding stimulus (whether in direct or 
reverse order), as in the pair of responses, cat.ing-tahle, mounfaiii-floor. 

(n) Rcpcliiioii, of a previous response (distinguished from repetition 
of preceding response). 

(o) Repetition of a previous stimulus. 

(p) Indii-idnaJ, Ijiit normal respouses, according to rules given in the 
appendix. 

(g*) Association to a precedinn response (so .iuclged by E, though 
neither response chances to be one of the 100 .stimulus words), as in the 
pairs priest-father, ocean-mother. 

(r) T'TWIassifled responses — a rather large group in some types of 
pathological .S^'s, because of the presence of numerous incoherent responses, 
but also found with normal *S"s when the response is affected by distract- 
ing circumstances, by purely personal experiences, etc. 

In using this classification, responses that might be listed in two or 
more categories are to be assigned to the one of them cited earliest in the 
above list. 

When times are obtained, the speed of each ^S' is best indi- 
cated by the median, rather than by the average time of his 100 
responses. Simihirly, the best indication of variability is found 
iu the quartile variation, i. e., one-half of the difference between 
the 25th and the 75th time, when the times are arranged in 
order from fastest to slowest. 

Results. — (1) Normal distrihution into the three funda- 
mental categories of the Kent-Rosanoff system — common, doubt- 
ful, and individual — is best indicated by the results obtained 
by these workers for the 1000 /Sf's on which their frequency 
tables have been based. Their results are summarized in Table 
58, wherein the distribution obtained by them and b}^ other 
workers for other types of >S"s has also been given to facilitate 
comparison. The point upon which most emphasis has been 
placed is the relativelj'' small percentage of individual responses 
(G.8) given by normal >S"s. 

(2) Normal times for free association with the Kent-Rosanoff 
series have been reported by few experimenters. Miss Otis 
merely states that the times proved significant and valuable 
and that defective children were both slower and more variable 
than normal children. Goett (6), who used Jung's list, found 
that with normal children the mode was in the 2d second and 



60 [426] ASSOCIATION, LEARNING AND MEMORY 

TABLE 58 

Average Distributions for the Kent-Rosauoff Test {Com piled from 
Eastman, Kent, Rosanoff and Strong) 



EXPERIMENTERS 



S'S 



COMMON DOUBTFUL INDIVID'AL 



Kent and Rosanoff 

Kent and Rosanoff 

Kent and Rosanoff 

Strong 

Eastman and Rosanoff 



1000 normals 


8-80 


91.7 


1.5 


247 insane___ 


adults 


70.7 


2.5 


32man.-dep. 


adults 


75.8 


3.0 


16 man.-dep. 


adults 


78.6 


1.0 


253 delinq't 


11-17 


84.0 


2.2 



6.8 
26.8 
21.5 
19.7 
13.2 



was not much affected by age, while with mental defectives the 
mode was in the 3d second. Kelley's tests of 12 college stu- 
dents, with a list of 100 terms decidedly more difficult than the 
Kent-Eosanoff' list, revealed a skewed curve with the mean 
slightly- higher than the median, the median slightly higher than 
the mode; the mode was 1.0 sec, the minimal time 0.5 sec, the 
maximal time 3.5 sec The author has found the average times 
for college students with the Kent-Kosanoff list to lie between 
1.00 and 2.75 sec An overage less than 1.5 sec may be con- 
strued as a fast association time. 

(3) Dependenee on age. That children give distinctly fewer 
common associations (and hence more individual associations) 
than adults is the general conclusion of all experimenters 
(Eeinhold, Saling, Wreschner, Ziehen and the Eosanoft's), 
though Eeinhold did not find the number of common responses 
to increase steadily from year to year, and the Eosanoffs be- 
lieve that the differences between children and adults ai'e jjrac- 
tically obliterated after the age of 11. 

Their results, expressed in per cents., are shown in Table 59. 
Graphs of these distributions will be found in the original text 
(p. 49). The increase in the frequency of individual responses 
at the age of 15 is attributed to the presence of a number of 
retarded pupils who were still members of a grammar school at 
this age. Failures to respond (sixth column), which include 
replies of "^'don't know," are found to be due usually to lack 
of familiarit}' with the stimulus words. While this conclusion 
i§ borne out by their detailed table of failures (18, p. 47). it 



TEST 33a: uncontrolled association [427] Ci 



TABLE 59 

Dependence of Distrihution in the Kent-Rosanoff Test on Age 
{Isal)el Rosanoff and A. J. Rosanoff) 





COMMON RESPONSES 












DOUBTFUL 
RESPONSES 


INDIVIDUAL 
RESPONSES 


FAILURES 


AGE 






TO RESPOND 




Specific 


Non-Specific 








4 


40.4 


1.1 


3.8 


25.3 


29.4 


5 


55.1 


2.0 


4.4 


21.4 


17.1 


6 


62.2 


2.7 - 


3.2 


18.6 


13.3 


7 ■ 


64.9 


4.0 


3.5 


20.0 


7.6 


8 


68.4 


5.8 


3.1 


18.0 


4.7 


9 


75.1 


5.5 


1.7 


14.2 


3.5 


10 


72.9 


8.4 


2.3 


14.3 


2.1 


11 


82.0 


7.1 


1.7 


8.6 


0.6 


12 


83.8 


6.6 


1.3 


7.6 


0.7 


13 


81.1 


8.4 


1.8 


8.5 


0.2 


14 


84.1 


6.3 


1.4 


7.7 


0.5 


15 


78.7 


7.6 


2.0 


10.8 


0.9 


Adults 


85.5 


6.2 


1.5 


6.8 





must be borne in mind that occasionally even normal adults 
reply ''nothing," and again that young children often make no 
reply and yet subsequent questioning shows that they have had 
numerous visual and even verbal associates in consciousness 
to which for one reason or another they have given no expres- 
sion. 

A further analysis of these writers sheds some light upon the 
relative jireponderance in children (300 cases, 4-15 years old) 
as compared with adults (86 normal cases, selected records 
containing not over 10 per cent, individual responses) of cer- 
tain types of individual responses. Eeference to this analysis, 
reproduced in Table GO, shows that the greater part of the excess 
individual responses given by children fall in the categories 
'partial dissociation' and 'perseveration,' while the individual, 
but normal responses (by appendix to the frequency tables) are 
actually fcAver with children.^ 



'^In this analysis tlie tei'in 'partial dissociation' embraces what liave been 
described abo\'e as non-specific resjionses. responses by sound (including 
neologisms), ^Yord complements and particles of speech, while the term 
'perseveration' embraces all varieties of responses to earlier stimuli or to 
earlier responses and repetitions of responses more than five times. 



(>2 [42S] ASSOCIATION, LEAUNING AND jMEMOUY 

These experimeiitei^s argue that "it would seem, then, that the 
tendency of children to respond with individual reactions more 

TABLE GO 

Indiridtiul Responses of OliihJreii aiul Adults in the Kent-Rosanoff Test 
{Isahcl Rosanoif and A. J. Rusanoff) 



TYPES OP RESPONSE 



86 NORMAL ADULTS 


300 CHILI 


41.8 


20.0 


0.3 


0.1 


8.0 


11.1 


(i.l 


27.8 




0.6 


43.8 


40.4 



Normal (by appendix) 

Derivatives ol stimulus words 

Partial dissociation 

Perseveration 

Neologisms (without sound relation) 
Unclassi fled 



often than adults rests in a large measure upon a certain lack 
of mobility of attention which results in an inability to quickly 
dismiss from the mind previous stimulus or reaction words and 
to turn the mind wholly toward the new stimulus word." 

The author is inolined to believe that Iiere, as in not a few other in- 
stances in whicli cliil'iren differ from adults in psychological tests, what 
wo are really brin.Lrini; to lii;ht is an inability of the children to nnderstand 
the instructions or disinclination to follow them if they are understood. 
In other words, the regular instructions of the Kent-Rosanoft" test consti- 
tute an artificial restriction of the natural associative tendencies, as will 
be shown further on. Adults are able and willing to maintain the proper 
attitude and follow the rules of the game ; many children are unable or 
unwilling to do so. 

Again, as regards the perseverative tendencies, no instructions are given 
to tlie child to avoid repetition of association, while it is common for 
cultured adults to avoid repetition from some preconceived notion that 
they are called upon so to do. 

JMoi'Oover, \\hile data are lacking to prove this contention, it seems very 
likely that the amoiuit of 'perseveration' witnessed in responses to an 
association test is much inlluenced by the speed with which the entire 
test is conducted, because the faster the succession of stinmli, the greater 
the 'hang-over' effects of the words, whether stimuli or responses, that 
have been in consciousness. Although precise statements are wanting, 
Hosanoff and his co-workers appear to have conducted their tests at a 
fast pace. It goes without saying that for purposes of comparison be- 
tween any groups of »V's, the speed of giving the stinmli should be con- 
stant and that pauses for rest introduced with one group should be intro- 
duced likewise with the others. 

A closely similar opinion is expressed by Kakise (S), when he says: 
"To sum up, these so-called characteristic forms in children and the ab- 
normal can all be found in normal adults in their natural associations, 
/. c, when they react according to natural and spontaneous suggestions, 



TEST 33a: uncontuollki) association [421)J i\:\ 

as was the case with our experiment, and do not react according to arti- 
ficial and 'sojjhisticated' associations, /. p., by mere verbal associations, as 
is the case in the customary experiment with normal observers who are 
expert enough to obey the 'rules.' " 

Another attempt to establish relations between age and asso- 
ciative type has been made by Miss Otis, who tested 200 normal 
children, aged 4 to 8 years, 40 in each of the 5 ages, and com- 
pared the results with those for 130 children in the Vineland, 
N. J., Training School for the Feeble-Miuded, classified for 
mental age by the Binet-Simon tests. 

TABLE Gl 

Types of Associative Response m Normal and Fechle-Minded 
Children (Otis) 

Normals. 



AGE 


FAILURE 


TYPE I 


TYPE I[ 


TYPE III 


TYPE IV 


TYPE V 


TOTAL 


4 


1 


21 


4 





11 


3 


40 


5 




G 


13 


1 


14 


9 


43 


6 






9 


6 


13 


18 


39 


7 






2 


1 


8 


29 


40 


8 




1 


1 


3 


5 


30 


40 


All 


1 


28 


22 


11 


51 


89 


202 



Defectives. 



AGE 


FAILURE 


TYPE I 


TYPE II 


TYPE HI 


TYPE IV 


TYPE V 


TOTAL 


2 




4 




• 






4 


3 




5 


1 






1 


7 


4 




3 


1 




1 




5 


5 




1 






5 


1 


7 


6 


2 


3 


I 




9 


1 


IG 


7 






1 




11 


G 


18 


8 








1 


7 


19 


27 


9 




1 






7 


15 


23 


10 










3 


14 


17 


11 












4 


4 


12 












4 


4 


All 


2 


17 


4 


1 


43 


G5 


132 



04 [430] ASSOCIATION^, LEARNING AND MEMORY 

In Table 61, T^pe I signifies repetition of the stimulus, Type 
II non-logical responses (no apparent connection between 
stimulus and response), Tj'pe III responses b}^ sound (whether 
by a real word or by a neologism), Type IV multiverbal re- 
sponses (like tvJiistle — ichen you ivliistle^ doctor — to make you 
'better^ tfihle — there's a table), and Type V normal responses 
(meaning here responses by one word, of Avhich at least 50 per 
cent, must be found in the frequency tables). A child is classed 
as belonging clearly to one of these five types only when at least 
50 per cent, of his responses are of the kind indicated, but the 
figures given in Table 61 include cases of 'mixed' types, which 
have been classed hj the preponderant tendency. So far as 
normal children are concerned, it appears (1) that at 4 years 
more than half belong to the types characterized by repetition 
of the stimulus, (2) that non-logical responses (Type II) are 
characteristic of 5 years, (3) that multiverbal responses (Tj^pe 
IV) are very prevalent from 4 to 6 years, (4) that a normal 
type of response, in the sense here used, is established in 75 per 
cent, of children by the age of 8 j^ears, though these children 
by no means respond like adults, or even like children of 12 
when their detailed responses are taken into consideration. 

The relation of speed of association to age is not so clearly 
made out as one might expect. Nearly all experimenters find 
that work with the Kent-Kosanoff lists takes longer with chil- 
dren than with adults. Ziehen concluded that free association 
times decreased markedly year by year and Wreschner reached 
a similar conclusion, but both Goett and Rusk report that there 
is no definite relation betAveen speed and age, while Meumann 
calls attention to the fact that, though work progresses more 
rapidly with older children, the more intelligent not infre- 
quently respond more slowly, and the less intelligent, by reason, 
seemingl}^, of their relatively less originality and paucity of 
imagery, frequently respond more rapidly. In the limited num- 
ber of tests made by the author, children (of about the age of 
9) have invariably been distinctly slower than adults. 

(3) Dependence on sex. The results reported by Burt and 
by Burt and Moore show a number of inconsistencies : in one 
group at least ^65 children in the Holt School, Liverpool) the 



TEST 33a : UNCONTROLLED ASSOCIATION [431] G5 

girls slightly exceeded the boys in number of associations writ- 
ten, while in another group (130 children, aged 13 years, in the 
Wallasey School) 35 per cent, of the boys exceeded the median 
of girls. Burt and Moore, in any event, conclude that "the 
males are far quicker than the females." 

In their compilation of data from 1000 normal ^*'S Kent and 
Eosanoft" did not find any considerable differences between the 
sexes in the nature of the distribution of the responses. 

(4) Dependence on practise. Both Rusk and Wells (23) find 
that practise in giving free associations reduces the time. Since 
this practise is not gained by actual repetition of the same 
series of stimulus words, the gain in time must lie in facilita- 
tion of general factors that condition the process of associating. 
Wells finds that the responses become less emotional, that the 
number of supraordinate relations is diminished and that of 
simple language-motor responses is increased, while at the same 
time there is greater 'particularization' in the responses. Ver- 
bal connections appear to become 'loosened up,' and general 
linguistic readiness is augmented. The effect of practise, then, 
is to develop an easier, simpler and more superficial type of re- 
sponse. Practise also decreases the times, so that the median 
speed is reduced to about 1.2 sec. from any amount above that 
up to 3.0 sec, with the consequence that individual differences 
in speed are less after practise than before it. 

(5) Dependence on intelligence. The original data collected 
by Kent and Rosanoff permit them to compare the responses of 
100 persons of collegiate education with those of 100 persons 
of connnon school education. The comparison indicates (see 
their Table I, p. 9) more individuality in the responses of those 
of collegiate education, but the authors deem it unsafe to risk 
a definite generalization to this effect on account of the wide 
variability in individual records of both groups. 

In the case of children Isabel and A. J. Rosanoff compared 
21 'bright,' 21 'average' and 21 'dull' children (teachers' esti- 
mates) and secured the results shown in Table 62, 
The same investigators contrasted 38 pupils who were peda- 
gogically advanced with 38 pupils of the same ages who were 
pedagogically retarded, and found, similarly, that the retarded 



66 [432] ASSOCIATION, LEARNING AND MEMORY 



TABLE 62 

Distrihutlou of Responses as Conditioned Vy Intelligence (Isahel and 

A. J. Rosanoff) 



GROUP 


COMMON 


DOUBTFUL 


INDIVIDUAL 


FAILURES 


Bright — 
Average— 
DuU 


79.0 
75.3 
66.9 


3.4 

2.7 
2.3 


12.0 

12.6 

22.0 


5.6 
9.4 

8.8 



pupils gave more individual responses (13.7 vs. 9.8 per cent.) 
and the advanced pupils more common responses (86.9 vs. 81.6 
per cent.). They believe that extreme departure from the dis- 
tribution which is average for the age of the child in question 
is an indication of a fundamental difference in mental ability; 
that 'plus-variations' [exceptionally high percentage of common 
responses?] characterize cases of precocity, while '^minus- 
variations border on the pathological." 

These conclusions are distinctly at variance with those 
reached by Ziehen, by Wreschner and by Meumann, all of whom 
lind a greater degree of originality, i. e., more individuality, 
In the associations given by more intelligent children. Other 
differences cited by Meumann (14, 89-101) are the following: 
(1) the unintelligent more often misunderstand or misinterpret 
the stimulus word; (2) they more often fail to respond; (3) 
they give a greater number of incoherent and seemingly sense- 
less associations; (4) they more often use very 'superficial' con 
nections, such as grammatical variants of the stimulus, rimes, 
simple opposites; (5) they often give responses derived from 
phrases or verbal connections that they have learned in some 
school exercise; (6) they often exhibit an apparent precocity 
by giving responses like adults rather than the more concrete 
and pictorial associations that are characteristic of most chil- 
dren of their years; (7) they tend to stick to certain forms of 
response once they have begun to use them (perseveration). 
Keinhold, on the other hand, found that in two of four classes 
the better children showed more, and in the other two less orig- 
inality than the poorer children : he also argues that no differen- 
tiation between intelligent and unintelligent children can be 



TEST 33a : UNCONTROLLED ASSOCLVTION [433] 67 

made on the basis of the tendency toward responses by sound, 
as this tendency is found on repetition of the test to be quite 
variable and a mere matter of chance attitude or 'set.' Simi- 
larly, Winteler, who sought to distinguish two types of re- 
sponse (the one termed the perceptual or describing, the other 
the comparing or relating type), could discern no relation be- 
tween intelligence and propensity to use these types. 

(6) Dependence on family relationsliip. Fiirst, Avho tested 
100 persons in 24 families with Jung's test w^ords (7) and 
classified the responses under various categories, concluded that 
persons related to one another tend to exhibit more similarity 
in the use of these types than do persons not related. He also 
concluded that the associative type of children resembles that 
of their mother more than that of their father. 

(7) The feehle-minded. Miss Otis' results with Vineland 
children have been i^resented in Table 61, where it is shown that 
repetition of the stimulus (Type I) is a common tendency 
with low-grade mental defectives, that multiverbal responses 
(Type IV) are encountered more often and persist till a later 
age in feeble-minded than in normal children, and that normal 
responses (Tj^je V) appear later and less regularly in the 
feeble-minded. Goett deems the test of diagnostic value for ex- 
amining abnormal children. He states that imbeciles have 
slower association times, tend to repeat responses and to give 
an unusually large number of multiverbal and non-specific re- 
sponses and responses of the 'predicative' type {wood — hum, 
glass — breaking). The 253 children examined by Eastman and 
Eosanoff seem to have been at least two 3 ears or more peda- 
gogically retarded. The results accord quite closely with those 
of aiiss Otis and of Goett in that they reveal an unusual number 
of non-specific responses, of repetitions of response, and of the 
use of particles. In addition, these investigators found a rela- 
tively large proportion of failures to respond, and a percentage 
of individual responses much above the average for normal per- 
sons, though not so great as in the insane (Table 58). On the 
other hand, really incoherent responses, senseless neologisms, 
etc., so frequent in the insane, were almost never given by the 
feeble-minded. These authors point out that the conclusions 



(!S |4;M| ASSOCIATION, IJOAUiNlNU AM) iMK.MOUV 

jus( ciU'cl ai'o triio oiilv for (lie jirouj) as a mIioIo; a i^cuxl many 
of Ihe (•liildi-ou ratod as looblo-iniiulcd oi' dt'liiKiiuMil <;avo noniuil 
associations. >Vhcii (o (liis admission is added tlic dciuonslra- 
tion of Kakisc, (o which wc liave alluded, thai nuiltivei'bal re- 
sponses, repetition of the stimulus and other tendencies sup- 
posed to be characteristic of abnormal nunds can also be found 
in normal adults, the value of the Kent-Kosanotf test as a device 
for diajA'nosis of individual cases is certainly much less evident 
than some of its friends avouUI have us believe. 

(8) 77/0 insane. That the insane show a relatively high fre- 
quency of individual responses is shown by the work of Kent 
and Kosanotr and of i^^tronji- (Table 58). Kent and Kosanotl' 
have also shown by further analysis of their nniterial (ID, p. 
21)) that there are characteristic ditferences in the distribution 
of the various forms of individual responses in the several dif- 
ferent forms of insanity, such as dementia praecox, paranoia, 
epilepsy, general paresis, manic-depressive insanity. A similar 
comlusion is reached by Ley and IMenzerath (12). The results 
obtained by Strong with KJ cases of numic-depressive insanity 
shoAV good agreement with those obtained by Kt'nt and Kosanolf 
for [V2 cases of the same sort. To what extent inferences may 
safely be drawn from jteculiarities in the times of responses, 
particularly from excessive slowness of reply, with resi)cct to 
the pres(>iic(» of hiddcd emotional com])Iexes is a niattt'r of nuu-h 
dispute.'' 

(9) DcpciKhiicc on instructions. Attention has already been 
called to the dilVerence in the outcome of the assot-iation test 

according as ^'' is set to respond as qnicl'lt/ as ])ossible or as /re// 
as possible.' It should be repeated that the lonclnsions drawn 
from the Kcnt-Hosanotf test with its freipu'ucy tables hold only 
when the instructions to res[)ond by a single word as (piickly 
as possible are strictly followed. In illustration reference 
nmy be made to the author's own responses, taken under Varia- 



"A gonoval idea of this iu-ol)Ioiu may l)o gaiiUHl from the rori'roiues Iicre 
cited from .Tung. I.oy and Mouzoratli and Lovy-Siilil. 

"Consult Monmanu (1,"^. 420 ff.) for further analysis of possible instruc- 
tions for this tost. Koels (17) has also called attention to the fact 
that jS^'s, despite unifonnity of instructions, do adopt different attitudes 
toward the test and thus give different times and responses. 



'nOS'l' .'>.')A : lJN<'<)N'nt()I,M':i) ASSOCIATION |1'>'">| *>-^ 

lion of Mcdiod No. ;> (leisurely i-esponst? will) |ierniission lo use 
jtlirases \vlieii sncli did ai)j)car first in consciousimssj. Tliree 
alteralions arc; jfioniincnt wlien Hie responses are conijjared 
will) (liose hy llie standard inslruciions. (a) Tlie nnnd)er of 
individnal responses is decidedly inereased, so tliat the coeffi- 
cieul of (■oninioni)laeeness falls from 12.8 to 10.5 (reckoned in 
lernis of (Ik; mean) or from 7.0 to 3.0 (reckoned in lerms of ilie 
median). Striking examples are the following: 



STIMULUS 


QUICK RESPONSE 


COlilFriCIENT 


LEISURELY RESPONSE 


COEFFICIENT 


soft 

n('('dl(! 

I'clifrion 

whiskey 

city 


hfird 

tin-cad 

faith 

rye 

town 


365 
160 

47 

9 

258 


pedal 

stickpin 

ecstasy 

rotten 

voleur' 











(h) There are numerous responses by phrases, and, furtlier- 
niore, comparison of these ])hi"ases with the single-term re- 
sponses under standard instruction shows that the single terms 
v\-ere really ])icked out fi-om the ])hrase that was rising in con- 
sciousness. That yonng children may not always stop to make 
(his seleclion is Ihe evident explanation of the tendency seen 
in them to I'esjjond by phrases, even despite re])eated instnic- 
tions to tlie conlrary by E. The following examples will make 
1 his ])oinl cleai- : 



QUICK RESPONSE 



LEISURELY RESPONSE 



lion 

command 
justice 
child 



boast 
order 
peace 
father 



king of beasts 
yours to command 
.justice, peace and mei'cy 
cliild is fatlier to tli(! man 



(c) There are numerous indications of 'perseverative' tend- 
encies, esix'cialiy in liie use of the same response for a number 



"By \\:\y ul' llic ]ilii';isc: "llic cily is i'lill of fhii'vcs" iiiul llicncc !<» Ilic 
I'^reiicli for thief — iiii cxccili'iil ilhistr;i1ii)ii of Ihe coiiiiilcxily <if Uic 
lii'dccss lliiit iiiiiy intervene before it is i)OSsil)l(! to ejiicul;il<' ;iii ornl 
icspoiise, ;iih1 of tlie fuel tiiaf tlie (li-()i)i)iii,t^ of m11 introspective reports 
must rol) the test of imidi of its iiifei-csl, 



70 [436] ASSOCIATION, LEARNING AND MEMORY 

of different stimuli, as soft— pedal, smooth — soft, hard — soft, 
loud — soft pedal, quiet — soft pedal. 

REFERENCES 

(1) P. Bovet, L'originalite et la baualite dans les experiences col- 
lectives cVassoeiation. A rP.s(f), 10:1910, 79-83. 

(2) C. Burt, Experimental tests of higher mental processes and their 
relation to general intelligence. JEPd, 1 :1911, 93-112. 

(3) C. Burt and R. C. Moore, The mental differences between the 
sexes. JEFd, 1 :1912, 273-284, 355-388. 

(4) J. M. Cattell and Sophie Bryant, Mental association investigated 
by experiment. Mind, 14:1889, 230-250. 

(5) F. C. Eastman and A. J. Rosanoff, Association in feeble-minded 
and delinquent children. AmJIns, 69 : 1912, 125-141. 

(6) T. Goett, Associationsversuche an Kindern. Z. f. KinderheiJkunde: 
1911. (Reprint, Pp. 105.) For detailed review, see ArjP.nf), 12 : 1912, 
192-193. 

(7) C. G. Jung, The association method. AmJPs, 21: 1910, 219-269. 

(8) H. Kakise, A preliminary study of the conscious concomitants 
of understanding. AmJPs, 22: 1911, 14-64. 

(9) T. L. Kelley, The association experiment: individual differences 
and correlations. PsR, 20 : 1913, 479-504. 

(10) Grace H. Kent and A. J. Rosanoff, A study of association in 
insanity. Am,//»s, 67 : 1910. (Reprint. Pp.142.) 

(11) M. Levy-Slihl, Ueber experimentelle Beeinflussung des Vorstel- 
lungsverlaufs bei Geisteskranken. Leipzig, 1911. Pp. 142. 

(12) Ley et Menzerath, Les associations des idees dans les maladies 
mentales. Gaud, 1911. Pp. 200. 

(13) E. Meumann, Vorlesungen zur Einfiihrung in die exp. Pilda- 
gogik. Vol. XL Leipzig, 1913. (2d ed.) 

(14) E. Meumann, Intelligenzpriifungen an Kindern der Volksschule. 
EPd, 1 : 1905, 35-101. 

(15) Margaret Otis, A study of association in defectives. To appear 
in JEdPs (?). 

(16) F. Reinhold. Beitriige zur Associationslehre auf Grund von 
Massenversuchen. ZPs, 54 : 1910, 183-214. 

(17) F. Reels, La recherche du mot de reaction dans les experiences 
d'association. Extrait, Annales de I'Institut Supcrieur de Philosophie 
(Louvain), 3 : 1914, 553-573. 

(18) Isabel Rosanoff" and A. J. Rosanoff, A study of association in 
children. PsR, 20 : 1913, 43-89. 

(19) R. R. Rusk, Experiments on mental association in children. 
BrJPs. 3 : 1910, 349-385. 

(20) Gertrud Saling, Associative Massenversuche. ZPs, 49: 1908, 
238-253. 

(21) E. K. Strong, Jr., A comparison between experimental data and 
clinical results in manic-depressive insanity. AmJPs, 24 : 1913, 66-98. 

(22) F. L. Wells, (a) A preliminary' note on the categories of asso- 
ciation reactions. PsR, 18: 1911, 229-233. (&) The question of associa- 
tion types. PsR, 19 : 1912, 253-270. 

(23) F. L. Wells, Practise effects in free association. AmJPs, 22: 
1911, 1-13. 

(24) J. Wiuteler, Experimentelle Beitriige zu einer Begabungslehre. 
EPd, 2 : 1906, 1-48, 147-247. 



TEST 34 : CONTROLLED ASSOCIATION [437] 71 

(25) R. S. Woodworth and F. L. Wells, Association tests. PsMon, 
13: 1911 (No. 57). Pp. 85. 

(20) A. Wreschner, Die Reproduktion nnd Assoziation vou Vorstel- 
lungen. Leipzig. Erf/anznnr/shaitd, ZPs, 3: 1907. 

(27) T. Ziehen, Die Ideenassoziation des Kindes. Berlin, 1898 and 
1900. 

TEST 34 

Controlled association: logical relations. — These tests differ 
from the preceding test of association in that they demand the 
giving of a response which is so restricted that only a very 
limited number of terms may be deemed correct associates. 
There are, of course, numerous forms of controlled association, 
since numerous logical relations may be demanded between 
the stimulus words and the responses. The relations that have 
received most attention in the literature of mental tests are 
part-whole, genus-species (subordinate) and opposites. Other 
less often used relations are whole-part, agent-action (subject- 
verb), action-agent (verb-subject), attribute-substance (ad- 
jective-noun), substance-attribute (noun-adjective), cause-effect, 
effect-cause, sijecies-genus (supraordinate), co-ordinate and 
mixed relations. 

Just precisely what mental capacities are measured by these 
tests is not always clear. Of course, it may be said roughly 
that they call forth the "ability to appreciate relationships and 
to control associations." It is also evident that the skill in 
handling these various relations is based upon what is known in 
psj^hology as a "determining tendency," or "adjustment to 
react according to instructions," and that "the more completely 
this adjustment dominates the performance, facilitating the 
right responses and inhibiting other, interfering associations 
and perseverations, the less hesitation and confusion will occur 
and the more prompt Avill be the reaction." 

On the other hand, an obstacle both to designating the ca- 
I>acities measured and to evaluating the results of these tests 
lies in the selection of the stimulus words themselves, for, if 
the terms are too difficult, failures appear due to lack of famil- 
iarity with their meaning or with the meaning of the terms 
connected with them in various logical relations; while, if they 
are too simple, no 'thinking' is demanded and the responses are 



72 [438] ASSOCIATION, LEARNING AND MEMORY 

given well-nigh automatically. Moreover, the inclusion in a 
list of terms of one or more stiinnli that are markedly different 
from the others in this respect introduces a source of difficulty 
in administering the test that is hard to meet, especially in 
group tests. The only solution of these difficulties is to discover 
by comprehensive testing what might be termed the 'association 
value' of each stimulus word for ^'s of a given sex, age, intelli- 
gence, etc., and then to prepare standardized lists of stimuli 
suited by their like association values to the measure of con- 
trolled association in specified types of ^'s. Much has been 
accomplished in this direction, but much still remains to be 
done. 

Consideration of the various possible forms of controlled 
association is limited in what follows mainly to the most-used 
relations, part-whole, genus-species, and opposites.* 

A. THE PART-WHOLE TEST 

Materials. — (1) For individual tests: Split-second stop- 
watch. Set of 20 cards (and 3 samples), each containing a 
stimulus word. Paper for recording times, responses and re- 
marks. (2) For group test : Stop-watch or special seconds clock. 
Printed form containing the same stimuli and provided with 
spaces for the recording of the 20 associates. 

The terms incorporated iu these cards and in tlie form are tliose rec- 
ommended by AYoodworth and Wells as the result of numerous efforts 
at standardization. Cards are used, however, instead of the narrow 
cardboard strip of tliese autliors in order that the time of each response 
may be measured by itself. The paper form is used to admit of. written 
group tests. 

The terms proposed by Pyle for this test are : window, leaf, pillow, 
button, nose, smokestack, cogwlieel, cover, letter, petal, page, cob, axle, 
lever, blade, sail, coach, cylinder, beak, stamen. His supplementary list 
is the same as that of Woodworth and Wells. 

The 10-word lists used by Kusk were : ear, wheel, beak, inch, platform, 
mast, branch, kernel, funnel, buckle: aUciiiativcs, moutli, handle, claw, 
ounce, pavement, sail, stem, core, boiler, knob. 

Tlie ten terms employed by Miss Norsworthy were : door, pillow, letter, 
leaf, button, nose, cover, page, engine, glass. 

The ten terms employed by Wyatt are not specified by him. 



^The mixed relations or analogies test is dealt witli separately as Test 
3JA. For further details concerning other tests of logical relationship, 
consult Rusk (15), Watt (20) and Woodworth and Wells (22). 



TEST M : CONTROLLED ASSOCIATION [430] 73 

Method. — Instruct *S' as follows : ''Each one of these cards 
has printed on it a woi-d. As soon as I uncover a card I want 
.you to look at the word on it and then, as quickly as you can, 
say aloud the name of the whole thing of which that word is a 
]jart. The word you read is a part : you are to name the whole. 
For example, if the card should have the word fur on it, you 
might say cat or seal or fox. We will try these sami>le cards 
first to make sure you understand." 

After a warning 'now' remove the cover-card from the top of 
the pile and take >S"s time for the first samjile — button. Follow 
with the other samples, leaf and drawer. These cards are dis- 
played and the time taken just as in the test proper, in order 
to accustom *S' to the regular i^rocedure. Misunderstandings 
are, of course, coiTected and cleared away. 

Proceed with the 20 standard test cards. Record on the blank 
sheet of paper the times, in tenths of a second, together with 
;S"s responses and any comments that suggest themselves. Each 
card is provided with its own cover-card. They are best re- 
moved with the left hand and the watch started simultaneously 
with the right. It is recommended that the split-second watch 
be used, so that one hand may be stox^ped when S first re- 
sponds ; then, if his response chances to be wrong, say 'No, give 
me another,' and take the time of his second attempt with the 
other hand of the watch. In this event, both times and both 
responses are recorded. 

Variations of Method. — (1) Individual testing may also be 
carried out, especially if none of the terms is likely to cause 
unusual delay, by giving *S' the printed form provided for group 
tests and taking his total time for naming orally the entire 
series of responses. 

(2) For a group test by the work-limit method^ (which is 
recommended for 8's who are competent to record their own 
time) use the printed forms and the special seconds clock, after 
the samples above mentioned have been displayed on a black- 
board and discussed with the aS"s. The clock is started at the 
signal for turning over the forms. Each >S', of course, makes 
his own written record. 



=See Vol. I, p. 8, Section (7). 



74 [440] ASSOCIATION, LEARNING AND MEMORY 

(3) For a group test by the time-limit method use the same 
forms and stop all »S"s at a time-limit so chosen on the basis of 
preliminary trials with *S's of that grade of ability that the 
fastest iS* shall reach about the 10th term on the list.^ It is 
hardly necessary to state that the scores obtained by either 
group test are not directly comparable with those obtained by 
the individual method. 

Treatment op Data. — (1) In the individual test the best 
indication of speed is furnished by the median. For a measure 
of variability the semi-quartile variation may be used, /. e., one- 
half the difference between the 5th and 15th time, when the 
series of times is arranged in order from fastest to slowest. If 
the *S"s are competent, the errors will ordinarily be negligible, 
so that performance may be measured in terms of speed alone. 
If it should happen that differences in speed are slight, Avhile 
qualitative differences are well-marked, speed may be neglected 
and performance rated in terms of quality, as by scoring 1 for 
each well-chosen associate, 0.5 for each 'partly right' associate, 
and for wrong associates or omissions. If both speed and 
correctness need to be considered, some of the methods sug- 
gested in the cancellation test (No. 26) or in the opposites test 
(below) may be employed. 

(2) When individuals are tested by recording the total time 
for the entire list (Variation 1), errors may again be neglected 
if few and of slight moment ; if more serious, the time may be 
increased by adding to it a penalty figured on the basis of the 
average time taken to utter a correct response to each stimulus 
omitted or responded to Avrongly. 

(3) In group tests by the work-limit method, performance 
may, similarly, be taken in terms of total time, or of correct- 
ness, or of some combination of time and correctness. 

(4) In group tests by the time-limit method, the simplest 
method of scoring is that of crediting 1, 0.5 or for each re- 



^The lists of terms iii these tests of controlled association have been 
so arranged by Woodworth and Wells that the terms lying bet\yeen the 
8th and the 10th represent as nearly as possible stimnli of equal difficulty. 
Thirty see. will suffice for testing competent adults. Pyle recommends 
60 sec. for Grades 2, 3 and 4; 45 sec. for other grades (and 30 sec. for 
adults?). 



TEST 34 : CONTROLLED ASSOCLVTION 



[441] 75 



spouse, as above explained. If necessary. to compare the per- 
formances of groups that have had different time-limits, they 
may be related by computing them all as if 60 sec. liad been 
assigned, e. (/., by multiplying the score of adults by 2, etc. 

Results. — (1) Norms of performance in the ])art-Avhole test 
are supplied chiefly in the data published by AVoodworth and 
Wells, by Miss Norsworthy and by Pyle. Tests of adult college 
students by the first-named authors show that the average asso- 
ciation time for this variety of controlled association (Varia- 
tion of Method No. 1) may be taken as 1.53 sec, P.E. .06, Avith 
a range for different individuals of from 1.03 to 2.50 sec. The. 
median times reported by Rusk for 22 children, aged 7 years 
6 months to 14 years 9 months, under Meumann's 'B' instruc- 
tions (emphasizing quality rather than speed) range from l.G 
to 5.0 sec. Miss Norsworthy's norms, based on 504 cases, rep- 
resent results with her list of 10 words, no time-limit, scored in 
terms of number of correct associates. Pyle's norms are based 
upon his list of 20 words, scored in number correctly written 
in a group test, computed on a basis of 60 sec. time-limit. 



TABLE 63 

Perfoiiiiance in the Part-Whole Test {JVorsicorthy) 



AGE 


8 


9 


10 


11 


12 


13 


14 


15 


16 


ADULTS 


Median 

P. E 


6.5 
2.3 


7.8 
1.3 


7.8 
1.9 


8.7 
1.1 


8.7 
1.2 


9.0 

0.7 


9.0 

0.7 


9.0 

0.7 


9.0 

0.7 


10.0 

5 







TABLE 64 
Correct Associates Written in 60 i^ec. Part-Whole Test (Pyle) 



SEX 


AGE 


8 


9 


10 


11 


12 


13 


14 


15 


16 


17 


18 


ADULT 




1 

Cases ,31 


67 70 


65 


i 
76 177 


1 

62 42 35 


1 

12 23 


66 


Male 


Aver. 5.5 6.5! 7.3, 8.9 


8.9 11.1 12.2 14.8 15.9 15.8 19.3 


18.5 




A. D. 1 3.6 2.9 2.5 2.8 3.4 4.3 4.1 5.5! 5.3 4.0 5.6 


3.6 




Cases 43 64 88 67 87 71 '63 48 


51 38 !28 


87 


Female 


Aver. 1 4.6' 5.91 7.810.010.010.812.514.0 


16.9 16.2 19.7 


19.7 




A. D. 


2.6 


2.4 


2.9 


3.5 


3.7 


3.5 


3.2 


4.5 


4.5 


4.8 


4.6 


3.4 



76 [J:42] ASSOCIATION^ LEARNING AND INIEMORY 

(2) Dependence on age. The results obtained bv both Pyle 
and Miss Norsworthy show that jjerformance in this test un- 
dergoes a fairly steady improvement from 8 to 18 years. The 
lack of any correspondence between speed and age reported by 
Knsk is probably due to the small number of cases examined 
by him. 

(3) Dependence on sex. Sex-differences are not sufficiently 
evident to warrant conclusions, though it may be surmised that 
girls and women tend to be slightly superior to boys and men. 

(4) Dependence on intelligence. Wyatt found a fair degree 
of correlation with intelligence (0.67, P.E. .07 in one group 
using teachers' estimates, and 0.56, P.E. .08 in another group, 
using class examinations as the basis for intelligence). 

(.5) Feehle-viinded. The work of Miss Norsworthj^ shows that 
mentally defective children are distinctly inferior to normal 
children in this test: thus the percentage of normal children 
with a record above the median, above — 1 P.E., and above 
— 2 P.E., would, of course, be 50, 75, and 91, respectively, but 
the percentages of feeble-minded children obtaining these three 
grades of efficiency were but 9, 17, and 27, respectively. That is, 
only 9 per cent, of the feeble-minded children reached the de- 
gree of efficiency attained by one-half of the normal children, etc. 

(6) Other correlations. Wyatt obtained with his Group I a 
moderatel}' satisfactory' coefficient of reliability, 0.65. His 
correlations with other tests range from 0.09 to 0.77. The 
lowest correlation was with. the letter-squares test; the higher 
correlations appeared with analogies (0.67), the completion test 
(0.75) and word-building (0.77). 

B. THE GENUS-SPECIES TEST ^ 

Materials. — (1) For individual tests: Split-second stop- 
watch. Set of 20 cards (and three samples) each containing 
a stimulus word. Paper for recording times, responses and re- 
marks. (2) For group tests: Stop-watch or special seconds 
clock. Printed form containing the same stimuli and provided 
with space for recording the 20 associates. 



TEST 34 : CONTROLLED ASSOCIATION [443] 77 

These 20 terms are those recomiiieiided by Woodworth and Wells. 

The 10 terms used by Miss Norsworthy are : book, tree, room, toy, 
iiame, dish, boat, game, plant, fish. 

The 20 terms proposed by Pyle are : mountain, city, weed, metal, fur- 
niture, machine, author, planet, river, book, ocean, fruit, country, animal, 
bird, food, lake, tool, fish, money. His supplementary list is the same as 
Woodworth and Wells. 

The 10-word lists used by Rusk were : tree, fish, college, battle, picture, 
tool, hero, lesson, taste, wrong: aUenuttives, bird, leaf, game, poem, song, 
toy, hobby, book, smell, virtue. 

Method. — Instruct S as follows : "Each one of these cards 
has printed on it a word. As soon as I uncover a card, look at 
the word on it and then, as quickly as jou can, say aloud the 
name of some particular thing that belongs in the class that 
is given on the card. The word you read is the name of a class 
or genus; you are to name an example of that class, a species of 
that genus. For example, if the card should have on it the 
word taste, you might say sweet or salt, or if the word verl), 
you might name any verb like run or go. We will try three 
sample cards first to make sure you understand." Follow the 
procedure outlined for the j^art-whole test in regard to the use 
of the sample cards, timing, etc. 

Variations op Method. — Follow the suggestions given for 
part-whole test, save that here the samples will be 6 my?, dish 
and game. 

Treatment op Data. — Follow the suggestions given for the 
part-whole test. 

Results. — (1) Tests of adult college students by Woodworth 
and Wells (Variant Method No. 1) show for the genus-species 
test an average association time of 1.84 sec, P.E. .07, with a 
range for different individuals of from 1.20 to 2.63 sec. The 
medians reported by Rusk for 22 children from about 7 to 15 
years of age, with quality emphasized more than speed, range 
from 1.6 to 11.4 sec. The norms reproduced here from Miss 
Norsworthy are based on 511 cases and represent performances 
made with her list of 10 words, no time-limit, scored in terms 
of number of correct associates. The norms reproduced from 
Pyle are based on his list of 20 words, scored in terms of num- 
ber correctly written in a group test, computed on a basis of 
60 sec. time-limit. 



78 [444] ASSOCIATION, learning and memory 

TABLE (;5 

Perforyaanve in ihe Genus-Species Test {NorsicortJnj) 



AGE 


8 9 


10 


11 


12 13 


14 


15 


16 


ADULTS 


Median___ 
P. E 


5.0 
2.0 


5.0 

2.7 


7.0 
2.9 


9.2 
1.9 


9.2 

0.7 


9.3 

0.4 


9.3 

0.5 


9.5 

0.5 


9.5 

0.5 


10.0 
0.0 



TABLE 06 

Correct Associates Written in 60 Sec. Genus-Species Test (Pyle) 



SEX 


AGE 


8 


9 


10 


11 


12 


13 


14 


15 


16 


17 


18 


ADULT 


Male 

Female 


Cases 
Aver. 
A. D. 

Cases 
Aver. 
A. D. 


29 
4.6 
3.4 

34 
5.5 
3.6 


67 
5.7 
3.4 

65 
5.4 
2.5 


66 
6.5 
3.7 

84 
7.8 
3.2 


62 
7.2 
3.3 

63 

8.2 
3.7 


69 
7.1 
2.5 

81 
9.3 
2.9 


68 
10.0 
3.8 

64 
9.5 
3.2 


64 
10.5 

3.8 

55 
11.8 
3.2 


41 33 18 16 
11.1 15.2 14.0 17.3 
5.4 4.3 4.1 6.0 

40 45 32 25 
14.0 16.416.018.3 

4.2 5.4 4.9 5.3 


65 
15.1 

4.0 

86 
15.5 

3.8 



(2) Dependence on age. Though Rusk can find no definite 
relation between speed and age in the genus-species test, the 
figures reported b}^ both Pyle and Miss Norsworthy show a 
general improvement with age, despite certain exceptions. 
Miss Norsworthj's test was obviously too easy for ages of 11 
and above, so that any tendency toward improvement beyond 
11 was obscured. Rusk's negative result is explicable partly by 
his instructions against haste and partly by the small number 
of cases he tested. 

(3) Depetidence on sex. Pyle's averages make it reasonable 
to assume a slight superiority of girls over boys, since they 
show this superioritj' in ten of the age groups. 

(4) Feehle- minded children, according to Miss Nors worthy's 
results, are distinctly inferior in this test to normal children 
of the same age : only 9 per cent, reach the median of the normal 
children; only 16 per cent, reach — 1 P.E.; only 17 per cent, 
reach — 2 P.E. of normal children of their age. 



TEST 34 : CONTROLLED ASSOCIATION [445] 79 

C. THE OI'I'OSITES TEST 

Materials. — (1) For individual tests: Split-second stop- 
watch. Two sets of 20 cards each (exclusive of samples), one 
set of easy, and one of moderately difficult stimulus words. 
Paper for recording times, responses and remarks. (2) For 
group tests : Stop-watch or special seconds clock. Printed forms 
containing the same stimuli (one for easy and one for difficult 
words) and provided with spaces for recording the 20 asso- 
ciates. 



The opposites test has been extensively used and has appeared in a 
variety of forms. The most common lists are pi'inted herewith. They 
demand a few words of explanation. 

Lists I, II and III represent the standardized lists for easy opposites 
prepared by Woodworth and Wells : Lists I and II, which are those used 
by Briggs (his Tests 43 and 44) are presumed to be of equal difficulty 
and to be so arranged that the last half is just as difficult as the first 
half ; List III. which is the set of easy opposites here recommended, 
is a selection of the 20 easiest opposites in Lists I and II. 



MATEEIAL ITSED BY VARIOUS INVESTIGATORS IN THE OPPOSITES TEST. 



II 



III 



IV 



long 


north 


high 


good 


best 


soft 


sour 


summer 


outside 


weary 


white 


out 


out 


quick 


cloudy 


far 


weak 


white 


tall 


patient 


up 


good 


slow 


big 


careful 


smooth 


after 


yes 


loud 


stale 


early 


above 


above 


white 


tender 


dead 


sick 


north 


light 


ignorant 


hot 


slow 


top 


happy 


doubtful 


asleep 


large 


wet 


false 


serious 


lost 


rich 


good 


like 


reckless 


wet 


dark 


rich 


rich 


join 


high 


front 


up 


sick 


advance 


dirty 


love 


front 


glad 


honest 


east 


tall 


long 


thin 


gay 


day 


open 


hot 


empty 


forget 


yes 


summer 


east 


war 


calm 


wrong 


new 


day 


many 


rare 


empty 


come 


big 


above 


dim 


top 


male 


love 


friend 


difficult 



80 [446] ASSOCIATION, LEARNING AND MEMORY 



VI 


VII 


VIII 


IX 


day 


great 


succeed 


tender 


asleep 


hot 


strict 


animated 


absent 


dirty 


tardy 


proficient 


brother 


heavy 


sleepy 


impoverish 


best 


late 


suspicious 


cruel 


above 


first 


rigid 


generous 


big 


left 


suave 


haughty 


backwards 


morning 


sinful 


silly 


buy 


much 


conservative 


insignificant 


come 


near 


refined 


disastrous 


cheap 


north 


pride 


miser 


broad 


open 


despondent 


I'csnlt 


dead 


round 


imaginary 


hindrance 


land 


sharp 


beautiful 


strength 


country 


east 


injurious 


innocent 


tall 


known 


diligent 


busy 


son 


something 


sell 


remember 


here 


stay 


sure 


increase 


less 


push 


active 


preserve 


mine 


nowhere 


venturesome 


belief 



List IV, one of the oldest and most employed, appears in several pub- 
lished articles and texts by Thorndike ; it forms one of Simpson's easy 
opposites, has been used by Miss Norsworfhy in an extensive study, and 
constitutes the regular test list prescribed by Pyle. The opposite of 
this list, i. c, bad, inside, etc., has been used by Bouser, by Miss Nors- 
worfhy and by Mrs. Squire. 

List V is proposed by Pyle as harder opposites for use with adults. 

List VI has been used by Bonser, by jNIrs. Squire and (with two 
changes) by Simpson. 

List VII has been used by Bonser, by Mrs. Squire and (with some 
changes) by Simpson and by Carpenter. It also appears in Thorudike's 
tests. 

Lists VIII and IX are two of four hard opposites useil by Simpson. 

The easy opposites test may be regarded as fairly well standardized 
so far as choice of material is concerned. But List III. which has been 
selected as best for younger children, will prove too easy for most /S's 
of 10 years or over, rwid we have no lists of moderately difficult and very 
difficult opposites that have been tested by very extensive experimenta- 
tion. The set proposetl by the author has been selected from the 50 
terms iised by Ilollingworth, who. in turn, selected them from a list of 
200 tested by Woodworfh and Wells and showing association times of 
from 2 to 5 sec. The aftemj)! has been made on the basis of the author's 
trials with college students and with the assistance of Dr. Ilollingworth 
to select 20 hard opposites that shall be relatively easy to score and that 
shall be of closely similar difficulty. 



Method. — Use the easy opposites for younger children, the 
more difficult ones for children over 10 or thereabouts and for 
adults. Instruct 8 as follows : "Each one of these cards has 
printed on it a word. As soon as I uncover a card, look at the 
word on it and then, quickly as you can, say aloud a word that 



TEST 34 : CONTROLLED ASSOCL\TION [447] 81 

means just the opposite to it. For instance, if the card should 
have on it the word dirty, you would say clean. We will try 
three sample cards first to make sure you understand." With 
the hard opposites follow the procedure outlined for the part- 
whole test with regard to the use of the sample cards, timing, 
recording responses, etc. 

Variations op Method. — Follow the suggestions given for 
variations of method in the part-whole test, with due regard for 
changes in sample terms, etc. 

When the harder opposites are used, particularly with adults, 
the instructions may be altered to put special stress upon the 
giving of an exact opposite, i. e., the emphasis may be placed 
upon quality rather than upon speed of performance. Further, 
it is well to instruct aS' that opposites formed by the use of the 
prefixes M/i or in, or of the suffix less, will not be allowed, save 
when the root of the stimulus word is changed; thus, for in- 
stance, inharmonious would not be accepted for harrnonious, 
nor unsafe for safe, but harmless would be accepted for dan- 
gerous. The split-second watch may then be used to advantage 
by rejecting responses that are incorrect, and recording the time 
of various responses made before the proper one is given. 

To test the eifect of practise, the cards may be shuffled and 
the series repeated any desired number of times, as in the pro- 
cedure adopted by Hollingworth in his tests of the effect of 
caffein. 

Treatment op Data. — This may follow the directions given 
for the part-whole test. With older children and adults, how- 
ever, when the instructions have emphasized quality rather than 
speed, the scoring of responses should be decidedly rigorous, 
and it may be well for many purposes to permit only a single 
correct opposite and allow nothing for 'partly correct' re- 
sponses.* 



■•Mrs. Squire counted as errors all responses that were not accurate 
and gave no credit for adverbs when adjectives were correct, nor even 
for approximate opposites, urging that "there is no mental test in which 
an approximate is less permissible." 

The important thing is, of course, that E should settle upon the type 
of mental activity that is to be demanded (speedy approximate re- 
sponses or rigorous precision) and then adjust instructions and scoring 
to measure this aspect of the associative process. In using the cards 



S2 [l-IS' 



ASSOCIATION. I.i:AI!XIX(i AND MKMOUY 



l\Ksui/rs. — (1 ) Aoriiis. 'VUc avciii^c (iiuc ol" i'es|)()iis(' of aduK 
colloji'e sludonis is given bv ^^'<)o(l^\•()l•lll juid >Vc'lls as 1.1 1 soc, 
V.Vj. .0-1, rangv 0.85 to 1.40, fov llic easy lis(. The uoriiis ob- 
taiiied by Tyle, Miss Norsworthy, Mrs. Squire and Carpenter 
are rej»ro(lueed in Tables 07, (18, ()<) and TO, respectively: these 
ligni-es may not be conii)ared directly Avilh one another on ac- 
count of differences in materials, scorin<>- and other conditions, 
bnt they will serve as bases for conclnsions with re<>ard to the 
dei)endence of performance in the test upon ai>e, sex and other 
factors. 

Pyle's norms represent the average number of opposites that could be 
written in (!0 sec. in a group test, usiug a list foi-mod of tlie opposites 
of List IV, above. 

Miss Norsworlhy's tigures refer to tlie number of correct associates 
to the opposites of List IV (her First List) and to List IV itself (her 
Second List), given by about till normal children of both sexes. Here 
the maximal possible score is evidently 20. 

Mrs. Squire's ligures show the average time in sec. and the average 
number of correct responses (rigid scoring) for small gronjts of peda- 
gogically unrotarded children for three separate lists (our Lists VI. VII 
and the oiiposites of IV, respectively). For the standards iirojtosed by 
her for each age, see the original article, pp. 5(K)-r)0('). 

Cari)enter's results are based upon what he describes as practically 
the same terms as our List VII. The tigures show the errors and the 

TABLE 67 

Correct Astiociatcs Written in GO Sec. Opposites Test {Pylc) 



SEX 


AGE 


8 


9 


10 


H 12 


13 


14 


15 


16 


17 


18 


ADULT 




Cases 


33 


65 60 61 72 


65 


61 


40 


33 


17 22 


62 


Male 


Aver. 9.0 


S.4 7.510.911.514.514.516.0 


18.6 


17.6 22.4 


22.1 




A, D. 


3.3 


3.0 


3.1 


2.9 2.9 4.5 


4.3 5.2 


5.3 


3.3 


3.2 


3.3 




Cases 


33 


56 


77 


65 74 73 


58 49 


48 


27 


26 


85 


Female 


Aver. 


8.0 


7.6 


10.911.213.9 14.917.417.3 


19.3,21.4 23.4 


23.4 




A. D. 


4.0 


2.9 


3.1 


3.0' 3.6 


4.3 


3.9 


5.1 


4.2 


4.9 


3.1 


4.0 



for individual testing it will be found convenient to list upon the back 
of each card the ditTerent words that are given by S's, together with the 
score previously determined upon for each word. 

For a more elaborate system of equating specxl and quality of work 
the reader may eonsidt Simpson (Iti, pp. 14, 10). 

The work of Woolley and Fischer contains many valuable suggestions 
for the evaluation of various responses in the opposites test (see 22a, 
]>p. 210-221). 



'I'KS'r ')4 : coX'ntoi.i.KK association 



44!)] ^•^ 



time ill soc. obtained in individual tests iu which tiie terms wei-e ivad 
by E and responded to orally j>y H. His records are confessedly "of little 
value below age '.)." Since tli*; times were taken with an ordinary watch 
!ind merely exjiress the total time occupied by the test for ea<-h child, 
it is impossil)le, of course, to derive from them any jirecise idea of the 
association time, strictly speaking. 



TABLE 08 
Correct AssocUttcs of a Possihle 20. Oppo-ntes Test {Norsworthy) 



LIST 


AGE 


8 


9 


10 


11 


12 


13 


14 


15 


16 


ADULTS 


Opp. 


of IV 


Afedian 


7.4 


9.o' 9.912.5 


13.5 14.0,14.5 15.0 1,5.5 


20.0 






P. E. 


2.0 


2.0| .10^ 3.0| 2.6| 2.5 


2.3, 2.3, 2.3 


l.(» 


IV... 




Median 


8.7 


9.5 


11.5'l3.114.7,16.4 


17.818.519.0 


20.0 






P. E. 


1.4 


1.7 


2.2j 2.9 3.6 2.4 


2.0 2.0 2.0 


'■" 



TABLE GO 

Correct A.sfiociatcs and Times. Opposites Test (Squire) 





LIST VI 


LIST VII 


LIST IV (OPP.) 


AVEK. FOR ALL 


AGS 


Words 


Time 


Words 


Time 


Words 


Time 


Words 


Time 


6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 


8.5 
13.1 
16.1 
17.6 
17.1 
19.3 
19.5 
19.4 


192.3 

155.6 
110.3 

103.7 
87.1 
79.3 
81.2 
72.5 


11.3 

15.0 
17.1 
16.5 
17.7 
19.0 
19.2 
19.2 


143.3 
137.7 

98.2 
101.1 

87.0 
102.0 

85.5 

61.5 


11.6 
14.5 

1(3.7 

17.7 
18.2 
19.6 
19.2 
19.2 


120.0 

117.6 
104.9 
98.4 
76.2 
68.3 
63.2 
65.0 


10.5 
14.2 

16.6 
17.2 
17.6 
19.3 
19.3 
19.3 


151.8 

l.'56.9 
104.8 
101.7 
83.4 
83.2 
63.2 
66.3 



TABLE 70 

/■Jrrors aiifl Times. (Jpposites Test (Carpenter) 



AGE 


7 


8 


9 


10 


11 


12 


13 


14 


Cases 


7 
118 
4.1 


19 
118 
4.2 


46 
108 
4.5 


50 
101 
4.7 


41 
98 
4.8 


44 
82 
3.8 


58 
79 
3.6 


49 


Aver. Time 

Aver, Errors 


71 
3.2 



S4 1150] ASSdC^lAPlON, l.KAUNMNO AN'P ISIEMORY 

[-) l>(/icii(Uiicc on (///(■. 'riio cvi(l(Mir(> from (lu'sc I'oiu' (ables, 
as well as from lUo rcsulls of WooUey and Fisrlior, Ihouiih 
iio( iiuaranfooiuii in cvi'iy insfanco a uniform im-roaso in 
(juanlily or (inality of pcrfoi-mance from yoar (o year, un- 
doubtedly justities tlie nvnerali/.alion that both speed of tiud- 
iug oi)posites niul accuracy of ilie responses made, improve 
with age. The failure of this tendency to ajipear in the tables 
publishi'd by Uonser is appariMilly due (o the iuadtMpiacy of his 
test material for briugiug' out the abilities of the older pupils. 

(o) Depcnth'in'c on scr. in all comjiarisous of groups the 
superiority of females over males is readily noted. Thus, girls 
surpass boys in 10 of Tyle's 12 age-groups; llollingworth (9) 
found women faster than men in namiug oi)])osites both before 
aud after jtractise; Kurt and iMoore report that in one group 
only -\h- and in another only 42.2 per ceut. of the boys reached 
the median mark of girls; lionser found girls superior to boys 
in every school grade, though it is signiticaut that in most of 
his groups more boys than girls were found in the highest 
quartile. Wool ley and Fischer T'eport a slight superiority of 
girls, but add that "it is too small to be considered very sig- 
nificant." 

(4) Dependence on school (pride. Bonser found a general 
progress from grade to grade, coupled with a decrease of varia- 
bility; his results are somewhat afl'ecied by the fact that his 
test was too easy for use much beyond the OA grade. On the 
otlier hand, the curves of distribution published by Chambers 
show that it is impossible to distinguish 7th grade and 8th 
grade pupils by their curv(>s of distribution in this test. 

(5) Dependence on inteHi(/ence. With the exception of Win- 
teler's conclusion (based on the study of only 8 boys, divided 
into two contrasted groups) that the op})osites test is less well 
adapted than other forms of controlled association to reveal 
differences in intelligence, the general opinion of experimenters 
is decidedly favorable to its use for this purpose. Mrs. Squire 
found that pedagogically retarded pupils show a distinctly 
lower general average performance with more irregularity in 
speed and quality of Avork than the unretarded. Bonser ob- 



TEST 'M : CON'I'UOLIJCI) ASSU(JIAT1(>N [4r)l | 85 

(jiiiH'd :i ((jnchil i()(i of <)..S5 hclwccn (>|t|)Osilcs ;ni(i I Ik; ;ivcra|^e 
Hhindiii}; in nil llie tests used by liiin to nicsisiir-c jihilify t(j rea- 
son, and d('il;ii(!S tliat "tlu* <)i)posit('S test seems to be a lest of 
rather sii|)eiior- inei-it as .i, siiif^hi test for this J4('iier;il foiiii of 
iiient;il nbilit.v." In Simpson's interesting^- stndy of two «-on- 
ti"isted f^roiips of adnlts (17 of superior, and 150 of (piile in- 
ferior j^-enernl abilityj tlui two j;i-onps were completely sepa- 
i-ated by both the (;;isy iind tiie hard oj)posit(;s lest, i. c.^ no 
l»erson in the |;oorer j^roup did as well as tlie jtooresl in the good 
group. Simpson estimates tlie true correlation witli tlie intelli- 
gence of ])e()ple in general to be as high as 0.82 for tlie easy, 
and O.Dti for the hai-d opposites test. 

At Jiedford Kills Jteformatory, Miss Weidensall j-ejtoits a 
coi-relation of 0.70, I'.E. .01}, between rank-oi-dei- in ojjposites 
and the (slimate of int(;lligenc<' of the; women made, by the 
director of the Industi-ial School of the institution. The <-orre- 
lation would have been higliei- uiidei- moi-e favorabh; conditions 
for the testing and the (islimating. Again, the institutional 
women who had received the most schooling showed almost 
exactly tlie same ability as the ('incinnati 15-year-old working 
girls tested by Woolley and Fischer, whereas tlu^ J»edfoi-d Jie- 
low-Cirade Oroup (schooling less than Gi-ade 5J>) were de- 
cidedly infei'ior to the Bedford (Jrade (Iroup and to the Cin- 
cinnati girls. 

(6) The feehle-minded and delinquent. No feeble-minded 
child, according to Miss Noi-s worthy's figui-es, i-eached the 
median performance of normal children; only about one in a 
hundred were better than — 1 I'.E, and only about six in a liun- 
di-ed were better than — 2 JM<]. of normal children of their age. 

Reference has just been made to the comf)arison of delinquent 
women and school girls. Dr. Weidensall's results show also 
that the Bedford women, taken as a group, are slightly inferior 
to the Cincinnati 15-year-old working girls at the upjier quar- 
tile, 7.5 j)er cent, less accurate at the median and 20.2 per cent, 
less accurate at the lower quartile. It is of interest to note 
that the opposites test proved somewhat difficult of compre- 
hension for these *S"s, so that special explanations had to be 
contrived and repeated as well before the testing could proceed. 



so [452] ASSOCIATION^ LEARNING AND MEMORY 

(7) Dependence on practise. Hollingwortli (9) put 11 men 
and 8 women through 100 trials with opposites, and also tested 
their speed in reading the stimuli and the responses from a 
typewritten sheet. The results were : 

Initial naming (average of trials 2-6), men 113.5 sec, women 99.7 sec. 
Final naming (average of trials 96-100), " 36.3 " " 31.2 " 

Reading directly (average of 5 trials), " 18..5 " " 16.1 " 

It is seen that extensive practise increases the speed of the 
associative process markedly, but that even after 95 trials a 
considerable part of the time taken in the test is occupied by 
the process of association as over against the time needed in 
reading and uttering the words. The speed attained by indi- 
viduals in the test by reading correlates with the speed ob- 
tained in the regular test of naming the opposites by approxi- 
mately 0.60. 

(8) Dependence on fatigue. In the course of his experi- 
ments upon the effects of caffein Hollingworth (8a) was able 
to observe the effects of time of day upon the opposites test 
under unusually favorable conditions as regards elimination 
of the practise error. In preliminary experiments (tests made 
at intervals of two or three hours) and also in more intensive 
experiments (15 trials between 10.30 A. M. and 10.30 P. M.) 
there appeared a distinct reduction in speed of naming oppo- 
sites as the day passed, and the fatigue effect was more pro- 
nounced in this test than in any others that were tried. After 
the second trial the initial records of the day were never sur- 
passed. 

(9) Dependence on race. In opposites, and also in other 
controlled association tests (genus-species, part-whole), Pyle 
(13a) found negro children of both sexes less than half as 
efficient as white children. 

(10) ReliaMUty. Simpson found internal correlations 
between his various lists amounting to from 0.53 to 0.93 for 
his easy and to from 0.60 to 0.97 for his hard list. The test 
may, therefore, be regarded as possessing a good degree of re- 
liability, particularly since Simpson's lists contained some 
words of unequal difficulty and are presumably less well 



TEST 34 : CONTROLLED ASSOCIATION L^'^^J ^^ 

adapted for testing than the lists which have here been pro- 
posed for standard nse. 

(11) Various correlations. In the ease of the women at Bed- 
ford Hills Reformatory, whose Avork was decidedly slow on the 
whole, the correlation between speed and accuracy was so high 
(0.83, P.E. .03, for those who needed no help in reading or 
writing) that the scoring was finally done in terms of accuracy 
alone. 

Correlations determined by Simpson between the easy and 
the hard opposites and other tests were as follows : with the 
Ebbinghaus completion test 0.72 and 0.85, with memory for 
words 0.65 and 0.84, with the A-test 0.50 and 0.58, with memory 
for passages 0.50 and 0.70, with adding 0.56 and 0.70, respect- 
ively. These figures represent ''estimated true correlations for 
people in general," as based upon raw correlations figured for 
his own adult /8"s, corrected for attenuation and other probable 
sources of error.? 

Thorndike found a very high correlation, 0.90, P.E. about 
.05, between the capacities of twins in this test. 

Notes. — Special comparisons of different forms of controlled 
association have been made, among others, by Watt, Rusk and 
Winteler. The average association times reported by Watt are 
1.864 sec. for part-whole, 1.454 for whole-part, 1.418 for co-ordi- 
nate, 1.548 for superordinate and 1.859 for subordinate rela- 
tions. General agreement appears in the conclusions reached 
by Rusk, who lists the several varieties of association tested by 
him in the following order, passing from the easiest to the 
hardest : whole-part and part-whole, co-ordination, free con- 
cretes, superordination, subordination, free abstracts, causal. 
Winteler concludes that when superordinate, subordinate, co- 
ordinate, species-genus and opposite relations are tried with 
school children, the first takes the most and the last the least 
logical power. 

The so-called 'B-method' of Ries, a test in which *S' is given a 
number of nouns representing causes and asked to name an- 



'See the original article for the raw correlations and for correlations 
with other tests than those here cited. For Bonser's correlations, which 
refer to various special tests, see his monograph, p. 96. 



88 [454] ASSOCIATION^ LEARNING AND MEMORY 

other noun representing a related effect, yielded in his hands 
extraordinarily high correlations with estimated intelligence, 
0.85, 0.86, 0.91 and 0.94 in different groups. The method is 
endorsed by Meumann (11, 432f.), who also reports excellent 
results achieved with it by Oksala, in Finland. Meumann de- 
clares that the capacity to seek out causes or effects affords a 
decisive index of degree of intelligence in children of from 
about 10 to 14 3'ears, and perhaps older. We have made attempts 
to use this test in the educational laboratory, both at Cornell 
University and at the University of Illinois, and have en- 
countered so many difficulties in the preparation of material, 
and especially in scoring, as to render the method unsatisfac- 
tory, even for mature college students. 

Another relatively easy, though strictly controlled associa- 
tion test is that known as the backward-alphabet test. This 
has usually been conducted by asking S to name, or to write, as 
rapidly as possible, the letters that precede f, k, s, p, w, I, e, r, 
d, o, V, j, n, t, and h. For comparison, and to obtain a rough 
notion of >S"s familiarity with the sequence of the alphabet in 
general, this test might be supplemented by another in which /S* 
was required to state the letters that follow another series of 
15 letters.'^ 

REFERENCES 

(1) A. R. Abelson, Tests for mental deficiency in cliildliood. The 
Child, No. 3 : 1912, 1-17. See also : The measnremeut of mental ability of 
'backward' children. Bt^JPs, 4: 1911, 268-314. 

(2) H. A. Aikins, E. L. Thorndike and Elizabeth Hubbell. Corre- 
lation among perceptive and associative processes. PsR, 9 : 1902, 374-382. 

(3) F. G. Bonser, The reasoning ability of children of the fourth, 
fifth and sixth school grades. GohimljiaGonEd, No. 37. New York, 1910. 
Pp. 113. 

(4) T. H. Briggs, Formal English grammar as a discipline. Teachers 
College Record, 14 : 1913, 2,51-343. 

(5) C. Burt and R. C. Moore, The mental differences between the 
sexes. JEPd, 1 : 1912, 273-284, 355-388. 

(6) D. F. Carpenter, Mental age tests. JEdPs,4: 1913, 538-544. 

(7) W. G. Chambers, Individual differences in grammar grade chil- 
dren. JEdPs, 1 : 1910, 61-75. 

(8) H. L. Ilollingworth. The influence of caffein on mental and motor 
efficiency. ArPs{e), No. 22 (ColumUaConPhPs, 20: No. 4). New York, 
1912. Pp. 166. 

(8a) H. L. Hollingworth, Variations in efficiency during the working 
day. PsR, 21 : 1914, 473-491. 



"On the use of this test, see Aikins, Thorndike and Hubbell. 



TEST 34a : ANALOGIES [455] 89 

(9) H. L. Ilollingworth, Articulation and association. JEdPs, 6: 
1915, 99-105. 

(10) E. Jones, Some results of association tests among delinquent 
girls. PsB, 10 : 1913, 78-79. 

(11) E. Meumann, Vorlesungen zur Einfiilirung in die exp. Pada- 
gogik, 2d ed., Vol. II. Leipzig, 1913, especially 418-433. 

(12) Naomi Norswortby, The psycliology of mentally deficient chil- 
dren. New York, 1906. Pp. 111. (Much of this material is also given 
in JPsAsth, 12: 1907-08, 3-17.) 

(13) W. H. Pyle, The examination of school children. New York, 
1913. Pp. 70. 

(13a) W. H. Pyle, The mind of the negro child. School and Society, 
1 : 1915, 357-360. 

(14) G. Ries, Beitrage zur Methodik der Intel ligenzpriifung. ZPs, 
56 : 1910, 321-343. 

(15) R. R. Rusk, Experiments on mental association in children. 
BrJPs, 3: 1910, 349-385. 

(16) B. R. Simpson, Correlations of mental abilities. GolumhiaCon 
Ed, No. 53. New York, 1912. Pp. 122. 

(17) Carrie R. Squire, Graded mental tests. JEdPs, 3: 1912, 363- 
380, 430-443, 493-506, especially 430-443 and 500-500. 

(18) E. L. Thorndike, Measurements of twins. Cohwi'biaGonPhPs, 
1905. Pp. 64. 

(19) E. L. Thorndike, Educational psychology, 2d ed., New Yoi-k, 
1910. Pp. 248. See also his Principles of teaching. New York, 1906, 
and his Introduction to the theory of social and mental measurements, 
2d ed. New York, 1913. Pp. 277. 

(20) H. J. Watt, Exp. Beitrage zu einer Theorie des Denkens. 
AiGsPs, 4: 1905, 289-436. 

(20a) Jean Weidensall, The mentality of the criminal woman. To 
appear in EdPsMon. 

(21) J. Winteler, Exp. Beitrage zu einer Begabungslehre. EPd, 2: 
1-48, 147-247, especially 207-239. 

(22) R. S. Woodworth and F. L. Wells, Association tests. PsMon. 
13 : 1911, Whole No. 57. Pp. 85. 

(22a) Helen T. Woolley and Charlotte R. Fischer, Mental and 
physical measurements of working children. PsMon, No. 77, 18 : 1914. 
Pp. 247. Especially 213-227. 

(23) S. Wyatt, The quantitative investigation of higher mental 
processes. BrJPs, 6 : 1913, 109-133. 



TEST 34A 

Analogies.^ — In Test 33 the associations to be formed are left 
entirely' to /S"s choice, are unrestricted; in Test 34 the associa- 
tion is restricted to a single form of relationship throughout 
any one series. In the analogies test there exists restriction, 
but the kind of restriction varies from one stimulus to another 

^The author is indebted to Professor D. Kennedy Eraser, of Cornell 
University, for the arrangement of this test. 



90 [456] ASSOCIATION^ LEARNING AND MEMORY 

within the series of terms. The kind of restriction, moreover, 
is not indicated to aS* in the instructions, but is supplied to him 
by the test material itself, and must be apprehended by him 
from that material. Each stimulus in the series consists of 
three terms; the first and second terms illustrate the relation 
in question; the third term is the first of a pair which are to 
stand in the same relation one to another as the first and sec- 
ond terms. /S"s problem, then, is to find the appropriate fourth 
term. Because the relation varies from stimulvis to stimulus, 
the test is sometimes referred to as the 'mixed relations test,' 
as, for example, hj Woodworth and Wells (6), who say that it 
tests 'flexibility of mental performance' and also 'skill in han- 
dling associations.' Burt (2), from whom the term 'analogies' 
is borrowed, holds that the test involves "perception, implicit 
or explicit, of the relation and reconstruction of the analogous 
one by so-called relative suggestion." The test is recommended 
by these authors, as well as hj Wyatt (7), and it needs little 
trial to show that it has many possibilities, particularly in 
view of the chance that it affords of constructing series of 
stimuli of varying diflficult}-. 

Materials. — (1) For individual tests: Split-second stop- 
watch. Three sets of 20 cards each, affording tests of three 
grades of difficulty. Sample set of 7 cards for preliminary 
trials. Prepared blank for registering times and incorrect an- 
swers. (2) For group tests or variant form of individual tests : 
stop-Avatch or special seconds-clock. Printed forms for each of 
the three sets of stimuli, provided Avith spaces for recording the 
responses. 

The stimuli chosen for these series are taken from a large number of 
stimuli originally employed by Burt in Avork with the analogies test in 
England. They have been selected on the basis of fairly extensive trial 
with children and high-school and college students. If further materials 
are desired, E will find it more profitable to turn to the two lists of 20 
stimiili each that are published by Woodworth and Wells (also repro- 
duced by Briggs (1) ) than to construct lists of his own, as only by actual 
trial can the feasibility of a given set of terms for use in this test be 
demonstrated. 

Method. — Show S one of the sample cards and instruct him 
as follows : "On each of these cards there are three words, as 
on this one. As you see, there is relation between the first and 



TEST 3J:A : ANALOGIES [^57j 91 

the second word. You are also given a third word, and I want 
you to find a fourth word which shall have the same relation 
to the third as the second has to the first. Work as rapidly as 
you can, and say the fourth word aloud as soon as you know 
what it should be. Thus, in this first card the fourth word 
is what? In the cards that follow the relation does not remain 
the same as this one, but varies from one card to another." If 
this explanation seems sufficient, proceed with the other sample 
cards, saying: '"I Avill try these sample cards now to make 
sure that you understand." 

Follow the instructions given in Test 34, part-whole test, 
including the use of the warning 'now,' the taking of times 
during the sample set, the correction of Avrong responses, etc., 
save that it is unnecessary to record 8's response unless it be 
a word which is not provided for upon the prepared form. In 
ordinary testing E should pass to the next card whenever S is 
unable to give a response within 30 sec. Whether List A, List 
B, or List C, or some combination of them shall be used will 
depend upon >8"s age and ability and upon the time at E's dis- 
posal. 

Variations of Method. — Follow the suggestions for variant 
methods given for the part-whole test. 

Treatment of Data. — This may be based, in general, upon 
the instructions already given for the part- whole test and for 
the opposites test. 

The English investigators have attempted a somewhat finer scoring 
of quality of response than we have recommended. Thus, Burt scored 
1 for each correct response, % for fair and % for poor responses, and 
for omissions. Wyatt gave 4, .3, 2, 1 or for responses grading from 
fully correct to omissions. This elaborate scoring is not needed for most 
of the terms in our lists, for in quite the majority of cases there is but 
one single correct response. In the other cases the use of the split-second 
watch in individual testing permits E to wait until the correct response 
is given and secure a direct measure of the time needed for this response, 
while the time at which the first (erroneous) response is made can 
also be put on record as an indirect measure of *S"s general accuracy. 

Results. — (1) A general idea of the times that may be ex- 
jjected by the use of these three lists may be gained from the 



92 [458] , ASSOCIATION^ LEARNING AND MEMORY 

results that have been obtained by their use in a limited num- 
ber of cases (Table 71). The averages exceed the medians on 
account of the occasional ver^' long association times which 
appear with nearlj^ all S's. The average time reported for their 
lists by Woodworth and Wells (about a dozen college and 
graduate students, using the method of exposing the entire 
list) is 3.14 sec, P.E. .13, with a range for individual averages 
of from 2.33 to 4.40 sec. 

TABLE 71 

Speed in. Sec. for Correct Responses in the Analogies Test (Eraser) 





LIST 


A* 


LIST B* 


LIST C 


Group 


Cases 


Median 


Aver. 


Median 


Aver. 


Med an 


Aver. 


College 

Adults 

High-school 
Girls 


8 
19 

30 


1.8 

2.0 

. 2.4 


2.36 
2.64 

3.16 


3.0 


4.38 


3.4 


6.51 



"Lists A and B, at the time these figures were secured, contained 25 
stimuli each. The omitted ones do not alter the conditions enough, how- 
e^'er, to invalidate these records as norms. 

More extended use of the Woodworth and Wells tests by 
W. V. Bingham, to whom I am indebted for advance figures 
from the results secured with 200 freshmen at Dartmouth Col- 
lege, has jdelded the following percentile distribution for the 
analogies test (average time in sec. per response, based on two 
trials of 10 responses each) : 



Poorest 


10 


20 


30 


40 


50 


60 


70 


80 


90 


Best 


5.49 


3.98 


3.69 


3.31 


3.03 


2.85 


2.67 


2.52 


2.36 


2.06 


1.35 



(2) Dependence on age. While sufficient data are lacking 
to present figures for various ages, there is a clear difference in 
the speed of aS/'s of grammar-school, high-school and college 



TEST 34a: analogies , [459] 93 

standing when List A is used. Similarly, List B, and more espe- 
cially List C, proves too difficult for younger aS"s. 

(3) Dependence on sex. Burt found an advantage of 15 per 
cent, in favor of tlie girls at the Wallasley School, Liverpool, 
i. e., only 35 per cent, of the boys reached the median perform- 
ance of girls. In other tests at the Holt Secondary School, 
however, the average ijerformances of the two sexes were vir- 
tually identical. No sex difference appeared in our tests of 
Cornell University students. 

(4) Dependence on intelligence. Wyatt, working with the 
time-limit method on groups, found that the analogies test 
afforded the highest correlations with intelligence of any of 
the tests he tried, save the completion test. His correlations 
amount to 0.62 in one and 0.80 in another group. Burt's tests 
at the Holt School gave a correlation between the results of 
analogies and intelligence of 0.50 in the individual test and 0.52 
in the group test ; his tests at the Wallasey School gave again 
a correlation of 0.50 (see Burt and Moore). 

(5) Reliahility. Burt's figures show that the analogies test 
possesses a good degree of reliability, as its coefficient of inter- 
nal correlation figured in different trials 0.58, 0.71 and 0.92. 

Notes. — The analogies test appears to be better suited than 
other tests of association to bring out individual differences in 
quickness of adaptation to the task demanded. Thus, in the 
case of one high-school girl, the average association time for 
the first half of the list was 4.83 sec, for the second half only 
2.19 sec. The inference that this ^ was naturally slow^ in adapt- 
ing herself to new situations, but was able to work efficiently 
when once adapted, was afterward confirmed by the reports 
secured from her teachers of her performance in her school 
tasks, especially in geometr3\ 

When /S's are tested by the standard method of securing the 
time for each response, it is often instructive to plot a rough 
frequency curve, with the second as a unit. A comparison of 
the distribution of the times for different /S's, as in the following 
sample, shows clearly individual differences in steadiness and 
consistency of performance as well as differences in general 
tendency toward fast or slow rates of mental activity. 



94: [4G0] ASSOCIATION, LEARNING AND MEMORY 

ISaniple Distribution for Two College Students, List C 



SECONDS 


1 


2 


3 


4 


5 


6 


7 8 


9 10+ 


MEDIAN 


AVER. 


Subject D__ 
Subject G- 


1 




9 
4 


3 

3 


4 

1 




3 


1 

2 


1 

2 




1 




1 


1 

3 


2.9 
5.6 


3.91 
5.67 



It is also instructive to make notes of aS"s general attitude to- 
ward the test, whether confident or hesitating, hurried or tran- 
quil, etc., and to compare these attitudes with the quantitative 
results. 

REFERENCES 

(1) T. H. Briggs, Formal English grammar as a discipline. Teachers 
College Record, 14 : 1913, 251-343. 

(2) C. Burt, Experimental tests of higher mental processes and their 
relation to general intelligence. JEPd, 1 : 1911, 93 112. 

(3) C. Burt, The experimental study of general intelligence. Ciiild 
Study, 4 : 1911, 14-15. 

(4) C. Burt and R. C. Moore, The mental differences between the 
sexes. JEPd, 1 : 1912, 273-284, 355-388. 

(5) R. S. Woodworth, The consciousness of relation. Essays, pJiilo- 
sophical and psychological, in honor of William James, 1908, 485-507. 

(6) R. S. Woodworth and F. L. Wells, Association tests. PsMon, 13: 
1911, Whole Number 57. Pp. 85. 

(7) S. Wyatt, The quantitative investigation of higher mental proc- 
esses. BrJPs, 6 : 1913, 109-133. 

TEST 35 

Controlled association: Computation. — The solution of simple 
arithmetical problems in addition, subtraction, multiplication, 
and division may be considered as essentially dependent upon 
the accuracy and rapidity with which the appropriate associ- 
ative processes are executed. Computation is, therefore, a 
test of controlled association in which the restriction of the 
associative sequence is complete, in which only a single out- 
come is correct. But numerous subsidiary activities are, of 
course, involved. Thus, the solution of arithmetical problems 
with the aid of paper and pencil demands, besides associative 
activity, both visual perception and motor activity, while men- 
tal computation imposes an additional tax by necessitating the 
holding in mind of the problem itself and of the various steps 
in its solution. 



TEST 35: COMPUTATION [461] 05 

Because of this implication of perception, movement, atten- 
tion, retention, and perliaps other forms of mental activity, 
as well as simple associative activity, the computation test has 
been employed not merely for the special purpose of studying 
the nature and course of associative processes, but also for the 
more general purpose of investigating mental efficiency at large 
{geistige Leistungsfdhigkeit). Oehrn, for example, who was 
one of the first to use computation as a mental test, sought to 
study individual differences in the nature of associative proc- 
esses; Aikins, Thorndike, and Hubbell, Brown, Burt, Simpson, 
Hollingworth, and Krueger and Spearman to stud}- the correla- 
tion of specific mental functions; Thorndike to determine the 
relative influence of heredity and environment upon mental 
efficiency ; Reis to compare the ability of normal, paralytic, and 
hebephrenic children ; Jones to investigate the effect of bodily 
posture, Vogt the effect of distraction, and Hollingworth the 
effect of caftein upon mental efficiency; Winch and Starch to 
investigate the transfer of special drill. But the commonest 
application of the computation test has been made in the for- 
mulation of the curve of mental efficiency, or the work-curve 
(Arhcitskurve), with special reference to the influence of prac- 
tise, rest -pauses, exercise, and similar factors upon the mental 
efficiency of adults, and especially of children, during a school 
day. This use of the test is illustrated in the work of Aral, 
Bellei, Bischoff, Bolton, Burgerstein, Ebbinghaus, Friedrich, 
Heck, Heiiman, Holmes, Katzen-Ellenbogen, Kafemann, Keller, 
Kemsies, Laser, Lindley, Marsh, Martin, Ordahl, Robinson. 
Schultze, Specht, Teljatnik, Thorndike, Wells, Weygandt, 
Winch and others.^ 

Addition, multiplication, and both in alternation, have been 
more popular forms of computation than subtraction or divi- 
sion. With all four forms varied types of problems have been 
used. These variations in the arrangement of the test natu- 
rally affect its outcome. The most important types of test are 
illustrated herewith. Beside the types that are shown, Winch 

\\ major portion of these studies are the direct or indirect develop- 
ments of the special technique of the adding experiment as formulated 
by Kraepelin and his followers (see the various volumes of the Psy- 
cJwlogiscJie Arheiten and Kraepelin's summary (27). 



96 [462] ASSOCIATION, LEARNING AND MEMORY 

and others have emploj^ed miscellaneous arithmetical prbblems,- 
Reis had his ^'s add mentallj^ for 1 min. by 7's or by 12's, while 
Holliugworth has used a form of test, also recommended by 
AVoodworth and Wells, in which a constant number is added 
(or subtracted) from a given list of numbers. 

Examples of Material Used in Computation Tests 



A 
2 


B 

4 
1 
3 
5 
2 

6 

4 


C 4 

7 


2 
9 


8 
2 


3 
9 


2 9 9 5 4 6 5 4 3 17 E 42 F 492 
38382655139 +79 +763 


6 
9 

7 
4 


T 

D 

95799 
86967 
32687 


1 


■ 0" 

G 

93 

68 
41 


2 


etc. 

H 64293643194831457627 i 982 J 61 K 28 
+38682725423585791858 —469 —27 X 8 


S 
9 


L 363 M 47 N 948 7986 R 4)799 


5 
1 


3 

4 


84799 
95976 




25 
52 




X6 XS9 X 579 X ^523 


7 


6 


34797 










5 
2 


1 
5 


97864 
98945 








P 428423995479253314325 Q 254) 4659234 ( 
X4 


G 
3 
5 
1 
3 
9 
2 
1 


4 
2 
1 
2 
3 
6 
5 
3 


87824 
68792 
79867 
88896 
97745 
39799 
48970 
89043 










3 
(3 
9 

8 


6 
5 
1 

2 


67354 
54628 
91176 
90253 










3 
5 
2 

7 

2 















=It is hardly necessary to allude to the development and use, particu- 
larly by Courtis, of special sets of tests for measuring the abilities of 
school children in the fundamental operations of arithmetic, the solving 
of arithmetical problems, copying figures and the like. Similar tests 
for algebra and geometry have been announced recently by other investi- 
gators. Tests of this variety are, of course, aimed at the determination 
of specific pedagogical attainments and dift'er, therefore, in scope and 
method from those here under consideration. For an account of the 
Courtis tests, with results of their application to a large group of 
school children, see Courtis (12). 



TEST 35: COMPUTATION [463] 97 

EXPLANATORY 

AddUion 

A. Vertical series of 1-place numbers, arranged to avoid repetitions 
and pairs adding to 10. S's add continuously and drop bacli to units 
when eacli hundred is reached, or add by pairs, either orally or writing 
down the unit figure of each sum. The pairs are sometimes taken so 
that each digit is used twice, thus S adds 1 and 2, 2 and 3, 3 and 4, etc., 
and sometimes so that each digit is used once, as 1 and 2, 3 and 4, etc. 
Oehrn, Vogt, and others working under Kraepelin used columns of as 
many as 7,000 of such digits. Krueger and Spearman used 70, grouped 
by lO's as illustrated. Marsh used similar columns of 15 or 25 digits. 

B. Vertical column of 24 1-place numbers, using 1 to 6 only. Used 
by Jones, who had 8 add aloud while he himself followed with a check 
list. 

C. Horizontal series of 1-place pairs of digits. A modification of the 
Kraepelin 1-place series in order to make possible the examination of 
the accuracy of each addition. The unit figure of the sum is the only one 
recorded, as illustrated in the first four problems. Used by Schulze, and 
apparently also by Ebbinghaus and by Vogt. 

D. Twenty 5-place numbers. Used by Thorndike. 

E. Two 2-place numbers. Used by Teljatnik. 

F. Two 3-place numbers. Used by Kemsies for mental addition. 

G. Five 2-place numbers. Twenty such problems were given and 2 
min. allowed for computation. Used by Tliorndike and by Aikins, Thorn- 
dike and Hubbell. Four longer columns (25 numbers in each) are used 
in the Woodworth and Wells constant-increment test. 

H. Two 20-place numbers. Used by Burgerstein, Laser, Friedrich, 
and Holmes. The last-named investigator published elaborate rules for 
the construction of these problems in such a way as to avoid the exten- 
sion of errors in 'carrying.' She used 4 blanks with 16 such problems 
on each blank, 

Suhtraction 

I. Two 3-place numbers. Used by Kemsies for mental subtraction. 
J. Two 2-place numbers, to be written on the blackboard (Teljatnik). 

Multiplication 

K. Two-place multiplicand, 1-place multiplier. Used by Kemsies for 
mental computation, and by Ebbinghaus for written group tests. 

L. Three-place multiplicand, 1-place multiplier. Used by Kemsies. 

M. Two-place multiplicand, 2-place multiplier. Used by Keller, and 
by Marsh with the digits 1, 2, 5, and 9 excluded. 

N. Three-place multiplicand, 3-place multiplier. Used by Keller for 
written, and by Thorndike for mental computation. 

O. Four-place multiplicand and multiplier. Used by Thorndike and 
others both for written and for mental computation. The multiplicand 
is usually a combination of (5, 7, 8, and 9 ; the multiplier of 2, 3, 4, and 5. 

P. Twenty-place multiplicand. 1-place multiplier. Used by Burger- 
stein, Laser, and Friedrich, with the restriction of the multiplier, in 
most tests, to 2, 8, 4, 5, or 6. 

Divisi07i 

Q. Three-place divisor, 7-place dividend. Four blanks of 10 problems 
each were used by Bellei for an hour's work. 

R. One-place divisor, 3-place dividend. Used by Kemsies for mental 
computation. 



98 [404] ASSOCIATION, LEARNING AND ]\IE:kIORl' 

There are certain advantages and certain disadvantages in 
each of these forms of material. In general, E must select that 
form of test that best suits the conditions under which he 
works. 

Materials. — Stop-watch, preferably split-second. Printed 
forms, containing problems in addition and multiplication. 
For group tests, the special seconds clock. 

Five forms have been prepared for this test : others may be prepared 
by E as desired. 

A. Addition test : several thousand digits in vertical columns with a 
line separating each 10 digits, after Model A. This form may be used 
with children or with adults, and either for short series or for continu- 
ous adding, after the Kraepelin method, after the plan of Krueger and 
Spearman, or after the method of adding pairs. 

B. Addition test with 36 problems, patterned after Model G, but con- 
taining 10, in place of 5 numbers each. This can be used also for tests 
in which a constant number is added or subtracted. 

C. Addition test, patterned after Model C (Schulze's method), and 
specially recommended for younger *5"s. 

D. Addition test, patterned after Holmes, Model H, and virtually 
identical with the material used by Burgerstein, Laser, and Friedrich. 

E. Multiplication test, after Model P, as used by Burgerstein, Laser, 
and Friedrich. 

Method. — (1) General determination of S's ahiliti/ may be 
carried on with any one of the forms. The following general 
principles should be kept in mind: (a) Individual tests are 
usually more satisfactory than group tests, {h ) Any computa- 
tion work that is so easy that the mental operations can pro- 
ceed as fast as the results can be written (as Form C for 
adults) would better be given individually and arranged so 
that S may announce the results orallj^ and E check them otf 
upon a prepared key; and in general, care must be taken that 
the recording of results shall not fall to S unless it is certain 
that his associations will neither be delayed nor disturbed by 
the process of recording, (c) Group tests with competent ;8"s 
may be most satisfactorily carried on by the work-limit method 
with the aid of the seconds clock, (d) Group tests by the time- 
limit method should, as a rule, be terminated at such a time 
that the fastest >Sf in the group can no more than complete the 
task. 

In accordance with these general principles, Forms B, D and 
E Avill be found adapted for group tests or for individual tests 



TEST 35: COMPUTATION [405] 00 

Avitli the recording of the figuring done by ;S' himself. E can 
take the time for performing any specified number of the prob- 
lems, or he may also, especially by using a split-second stop- 
watch, secure the exact time for solving each problem without 
interrupting >8"s work until the entire test form is finished. 

For the constant-increment test S is given Form B, printed 
side down. He is instructed at the signal 'now' to add a speci- 
fied number to each number found in the columns when he turns 
over the form. The numbers commonly used have been either 
4 or 17. The test may be repeated with other increments, and 
these may be so chosen as to secure wide variations in diffi- 
culty, as by assigning easy constants, like 1 or 2, or more 
difficult ones than 17. Again, the assignment may be to sub- 
tract a given number.^ 

Form C alfords a particularly good test of skill and accu- 
racy in the addition of units, especially when conducted orally. 
Record the time for each row horizontally. Adults will make 
but few errors, and these they may be allowed to jjass over or 
to correct, whichever way they may prefer. 

Form A may be given by a variety of methods. In particular, 
*S' may write down the sums for each section of 10 digits and E 
record the time for each section until one page of the material 
has been covered : or ^S may add orally by pairs while E watches 
for errors upon a prepared check sheet, and also notes upon it 
the place reached by S at given time-intervals, as at each 
minute or each half-minute; the adding in this case nmj be 
done by either of the methods of grouping the pairs mentioned 
above (Explanatory, Addition, A). 

(2) For those who wish to arrange an experiment for the 
special determination of S's susceptiMUty to practise^ fatigue, 
etc., some suggestions may be found in the following develop- 
ment of the method of Kraepelin illustrated in the work of 
t^pecht and of Bischoff. To carry out this experiment fully, .S' 
adds by pairs, 10 min. per day, on each of 12 successive days.^ 

-Tor timing worlv by columns a convenient arrangement is to cut them 
out of the form and paste tliem singly upon small stifC cards. 

^It would seem possible to condense this time, either by taking fewer 
days or by adding during several sittings on a given day, though It Is 
impossible to predict whether the results would then be comparable to 
those reported below from Specht and Bischoff. 



100 [466] ASSOCIATION^ LEARNING AND MEMORY 

The pairs are added by the 1 and 2, 2 and 3 method and the unit 
figure only of each sum is written down by >S*.* A bell-stroke 
or other signal is given at the end of each minute, and >S^ marks 
by a horizontal stroke the point he has reached at the signal. 
On the 1st, 3d, 5th, 7th, 9th and 11th days there is introduced 
between the 5th and the 6th minute of the adding a rest-pause 
of 5 min. : on even-numbered days S adds directly through the 
10 min. without pause. 

In carrying ont this special form of addition test, or in fact, in carry- 
ing out any test wbicli is designed to measure efficiency under various 
conditions — different 'periods of tlie day, after recesses, after gymnastics, 
after eating, etc. — it is evident tliat E must bear in mind the possibility 
that a number of different factors may enter to affect the performance, 
and that to measure any single factor, like fatigue, the influence of these 
other factors must be excluded or allowed for. The most serious of these 
disturbing factors are practise, excitement, ennui and carelessness. 

A common method for cancelling out practise is to divide (S's into two 
equivalent groups on the basis of a preliminary test, and to administer 
one set of problems early to the first, and late to the second group (if, 
for instance, fatigue is to be investigated), the other set late to the first, 
and early to the second group. 

In studying the work curve, some ^^'s have used computation both as 
the test and as the work to induce fatigue, practise, etc. ; others have 
used computation as a test of efficiency, but have allowed 8 to follow in 
the main the regular work of the school session. In the first procedure, 
computation (usually addition) is pursued more or less continuously 
for an hour, or even for several hours ; in the second procedure, the com- 
putation itself occupies but a short time, relatively, say from 1 to 10 
min., and is repeated at intervals of an hour or more, while /S meantime 
takes up his regular tasks, indulges in physical activity, or rests, as E 
may direct. 

In illustration, Vogt, Oehrn, and other disciples of Kraepelin, have 
kept their S"s adding continuously for several hours ; Holmes used 4 
periods of adding of 9 min. each, with 4-min. rest-pauses, Burgerstein 4 
periods of 10 min. each, with 5-min. pauses. Typical illustrations of the 
second procedure are supplied by the investigations of Laser and of 
Ebbinghaus, who introduced 10-min. computation tests at the beginning 
of the school day and once an hour thereafter, and also by the studies of 
Heck and of Robinson. Ebbinghaus is inclined, however, to recommend 
5-min. tests as being equally serviceable for the determination of effi- 
ciency and less likely to develop ennui and carelessness. Offner (35, 
p. 48) favors short tests for similar reasons and also for the partial 
avoidance of the practise-error. 

Treatment op Data. — Computation tests yield two measures 
of efficiency — speed (or quantity of work) and accuracy (or 



^It would seem to the author much preferable to use oral adding, but 
here, again, it is not possible to predict what effect such an alteration 
of method might have upon the results. 



TEST 35 : COMPUTATION [467] 101 

quality of Avork). Many investigators, partieiilai-ly wlien exam- 
ining the effect of practise, fatigiie and similar factors upon per- 
formance, have found it best to keep the two measures sepa- 
rate. Some investigators, like Teljatnik, have considered qual- 
ity of work only; more often, qualitative differences, being 
relatively small, have been disregarded and performance has 
been ranked by speed of work onh^ The combining of speed 
and accuracy into a single score representing net efficiency may 
be attempted by some of the methods proposed in Test 26. Or, 
an arbitrary penalty may be contrived for each error and the 
time consumed may be increased by these penalties. Thus, 
Simpson, who used material like our Example G, computed 
the final score of his >S"s by adding to their actual time 10 sec. 
for each error. An S who added 10 examples in 55 sec. and got 
seven ansAvers right and three wrong would then be given a 
final score of 85 sec. 

Quantity of work is indicated by elapsed time when using the 
individual method, and by the number of problems solved 
(sometimes by the number of figures written in the results) in 
the time-limit method. 

Quality of work is generally regarded as directl^^ propor- 
tional to the percentage of correct solutions. Inaccuracy is 
most often taken in terms of the number of errors committed, 
less often in terms of the number of errors plus the number 
of corrections made by S. The simplest, but the least desirable 
way to compute errors is to score one error for every wrong 
figure in the result. In the case of certain problems, however, 
a single error in computation may affect more than one figure 
in the result.^ For reliable results, these complex errors must 
be examined and the score adjusted to indicate exactly the num- 
ber of real errors of computation. 

For the special experiment patterned after Specht and 
Bischoff more elaborate treatment of data is called for. (1) 
The gain in sums added the 6th min. as compared with the 5th 
min., in its relation to the sums added the 5th min. (/. e., the 
per cent, of gain) is computed both for all the days with pause 



'The problems in Form D (Example H) are inteutionally arranged to 
reduce tills error. 



102 [468] ASSOCIATION^ LEARNING AND MEMORY 

and for all the days without pause, and the difference between 
these two relative gains is found. (2) The number of sums 
added in the first five and in the second five minutes, both on 
days with and on days without pause, is treated in the same 
manner. (3) The difference between the sums added on the 2d 
and the 6th minute on days with pause, taken as a per cent, of 
gain over the 2d minute, forms the coefficient of practise. (4) 
To find the coefficient of fatigue 
let F = the required coefficient of fatigue, 
P m the coefiicient of practise, 

A = the sums added the first 5 min. without pause, 
B = the sums added the second 5 min. without pause, and 
b = the sums theoretically added the second 5 min. under 
practise, but not under fatigue. 
A X (100 + P) 100 X (b — B) 

Then b = and F = . 

100 b 

Thus, if P — 8.8, A = 1226, B = 1141, then b = 1333.9 and 
F =: 14.46. (5) The difference between the sums added in the 
2d min. and in the 10th min. of days without pause, taken as a 
ratio to the 2d min., affords another, and in some respects, a 
better index of fatigue. (6) The total number of sums added 
the 1st 5 min. of all days gives T (total performance), which 
affords an approximate notion of >S"s ability to add. T is also 
made the denominator of a fraction, the numerator of which is 
the total number of additions made the very first 5 min. The 
fraction gives some indication of >8"s susceptibility to prac- 
tise. (7) Another index of susceptibility to practise is se- 
cured by taking the average of the gains in the first 5 min. 
from day to day as against the first day and figuring the dif- 
ference as a ratio to the first 5 min. (1st day). Characteristic 
results for all these values are given below. 

Results. — (1) Woodworth and Wells report the average time 
of college students in the Kraepelin form of adding as 107.2 
sec, range 65 to 164 sec. The same authors report for the con- 
stant increment test (one column of 2.5 numbers) adding 4 : 
average 33.9, range 24 to 49 sec; subtracting 4, average 41.1, 
range 25 to 67 sec; adding 17, average 97.4, range 62 to 158 



TEST 35 : COMPUTATION [469] 103 

sec, with an average of 2.4 errors in the last form of test. 
These figures are based upon a very limited number of *S"s 
(7 to 10). In the author's laboratory, tests Avith college stu- 
dents in adding 50 sections of 10 digits on the Kraepelin form 
have yielded individual averages per section of from 5.8 to 
13.7 sec, while the number of correct sections has ranged from 
34 to 46. 

(2) In all computation tests, and particularh' in those em- 
bodying mental multiplication, there are marked indwidual 
differences in speed and accuracy, even among /S"s of the same 
age and same school grade. Thus, Schulze's best pupil added 
more than 5 times as fast as the slowest pupil in the same 
class. 

(3) Dependence on sex. There is evidently no decided sex 
difference in computation, since the results of various investi- 
gators are conflicting. Burt found girls slightly slower in 
multiplication ; Burt and Moore reckon that 65 per cent, of boys 
exceed the 50 per cent, record of girls in adding and G3 per cent, 
exceed the 50 per cent, record of girls in multijjlication. On 
the other hand, Courtis' New York results show that girls are 
slightly better than boys in the fundamental operations of 
arithmetic. Again, Miss Holmes found girls slightl}^ better 
than boys, and the conclusion of Fox and Thorndike is that the 
girls in the high school they studied were about 5 per cent, 
better than boys, though here there may have been a better 
grade of girls selected by the school. In the solving of arith- 
metical problems, however, where something more than knowl- 
edge of the fundamental operations is involved, the work of 
Courtis and of Thorndike (52) shows a superiority of boys 
amounting to an excess of some 10 per cent, in the distribution 
above the median of the girls. "Eoughlj-, boys are about half 
as far ahead of the girls in the same grade as they are of the 
boys in the preceding grade." Heck found that boys fell ofO 
more in quality of work in the afternoon session than did girls 
(4.25 vs. 1.96 per cent.) — a result possibly due to a greater 
carelessness on the part of the boys. 

(4) Dependence on school grade. When sufficiently large 
groups are compared, there is, of course, a perceptible differ- 



104 [470] ASSOCIATION, LEARNING AND MEMORY 

cnce between the performance of one grade and that of the 
grades above or below it, but this difference is small in com- 
parison with the range of variation within any grade, and 
may, on that account, disappear when small groups are com- 
pared. Thus, the curves of distribution in adding reported 
by Chambers for 22 seventh and 22 eighth grade pupils can- 
not be distinguished, while Courtis generalizes results for his 
multiplication test by saying that "35 per cent, of any grade 
membership will exceed the average score of the next higher 
grade: also, that 35 per cent, of the grade membership will fall 
below the average of the next lower grade" (12, p. 450). 

(5) Dependence on practise. All investigators agree that 
practise produces a considerable improvement in all forms of 
computation, despite the fact that the associative connections 
concerned have been long established and often used. Holling- 
worth, who used the constant-increment test (adding 17 to 50 
2-place numbers) found that, even after 35 preliminary trials, 
one of his groups reduced their average time from 102.7 to 61.2 
sec. during 17 further trials, a reduction of some 40 per cent. 
Similarly, the 19 university students reported by Thorndike, 
who added daily for a week 48 columns of ten numbers, effected 
a median reduction in time of about 31 per cent., and in accu- 
racy- of about 29 per cent., although the total amount of time 
spent in the work was only about one hour for each S. Not 
all these *S"s showed such practise effects; for one or two there 
was no improvement, while one improved as much as 50 per 
cent. It is worth noting that practise-improvement is shown 
by those who stand high at the beginning of the work as well 
as by those who stand low then. The same result has been 
found also in tests of 29 boys in a New York City 4th grade 
school, where, according to Donovan and Thorndike, those most 
efficient at the beginning gained on the average as much or 
more (in gross gains) as did those least efficient at the be- 
ginning. Wells' tests of adults (56) lead to a similar con- 
clusion. On the whole, however, practise in adding tends to 
reduce somewhat the initial differences between the >S"s, whereas 
practise in mental multiplication seems not to affect much the 
relative differences between S's, from w-hich Thorndike con- 



TEST 35: COMPUTATION [471] 105 

eludes that the abilities demanded in ]nental nmltiplication 
are more de])endent upon original cajjacitj' than are those de- 
manded in adding. Mrs. Ordahl found that j>ractise in mental 
multiplication produced a decided gain in speed without much 
im])rovement in accuracy, and she believes that the improve- 
ment in this operation resides more in the methods of handling 
the task than in the facilitation of the numerical associations 
themselves.** 

The question of the transfer of practise-effects in computa- 
tion to other forms of mental activity has been studied by 
Winch and by Starch. Winch was unable to decide whether 
special drill in computation produced an increase of skill in 
solving arithmetical problems; there appeared to be a transfer 
in some of the classes, but not in others. Starch found that a 
14-day drill in mental multiplication developed an improve- 
ment of from 20 to 40 per cent, in other arithmetical operations, 
but had little effect upon auditory memory span. 

(6) Dependence on intelligence. Burt tested English school 
children, aged 12, to determine the number of additions or mul- 
tiplications correctly made in 10 min., and found a correlation 
with intelligence of 0.25 in addition and of 0.41 in multiplica- 
tion. BroAvn's results for a group of 39 girls, aged 11 to 12, 
show no correlation between school grades and speed or accu- 
racy of adding and a correlation of only 0.10 between speed 
of adding and estimated general intelligence : his results for an- 
other group of 40 boys of the same age show correlations of 
0.28 between speed of adding and school marks, of 0.24 between 
speed of adding and estimated intelligence, and of 0.11 be- 
tween accuracy of adding and marks, with absence of correlation 
Itietween accuracy and estimated intelligence. Simpson used 
adding in his study of two sharply-contrasted groups of adults; 
the test separated the groups fairly clearly — only 10 per cent, 
of the poor group reached the median performance of the good 
group. Within the good group the results of the adding test 
correlated by 0.72 Avith estimated intelligence. 

(7) Reliahilitij. Save for Burt's fig-ures (0.50 for adding 
and 0.55 for multiplication), the internal correlations for com- 



"Consult her article for detailed tables and introspective reports. 



106 [472] ASSOCIATION^ LEARNING AND MEMORY 

piitation tests show a good degree of reliability. Krvieger and 
Spearman, for instance, obtained a reliability of 0.76, Simpson 
of 0.76 for his good group, 0.90 for his poor group, 0.91 for 
both together. Brown, who worked with several different 
groups, reckons the reliability for speed of adding at 0.68 to 
0.98 and for accuracy of adding at 0.30 when one application 
of the test is made, and reliability for speed at 0.81 to 0.99 and 
for accuracy at 0.36 to 0.74 when the scores represent amalga- 
mated results of two applications. 

(8) Correlations. Aikins, Thorndike, and Hubbell compared 
efficiency in adding with efficiency in the other 'association' 
tests (misspelled words, cancellation of two letters, and op- 
posites), and {hy a special method of estimating the index) 
found the quality of work in adding and quantity of work in 
associating correlated to a degree of 50 per cent, in 8th-grade, 
and 20 per cent, in Sth-grade pupils, and net efficiency in adding 
and net efficiency in associating correlated to a degree of 48 per 
cent. On the other hand, the percentage of error in adding and 
in the other association tests exhibited no correlation or one 
of but slight degree. 

Thorndike's study of mental resemblances in twins (47) 
showed a much higher correlation of ability in computation 
between twins than between siblings ; thus, twins aged 9-11 
years revealed a correlation of 0.90 in adding, and 0.91 in mul- 
tiplication, and twins aged 12-14 years a correlation of 0.54 in 
adding and 0.69 in multiplication : taken collectively, the index 
of correlation amounted to 0.75 for the adding, and 0.84 for 
the multiplication test. 

Fox and Thorndike found that ability to add correlated to a 
fairly high degree, 0.75, with ability to multiply, but only to a 
small degTee, 0.20 to 0.44, with ability to solve fractions or to 
perform other arithmetical problems. They conclude that 
"ability in arithmetic is thus but an abstract name for a num- 
ber of partially independent abilities." 

These results do not agree well with those reached by Winch 
in his two studies of the transfer of drill in numerical accu- 
racy, since he found high correlations (0.68, 0.69 and 0.74) be- 
tween accuracy in computation and in arithmetical reasoning;-- 



TEST 35 : COMPUTATION 



[473] 107 



Burris found that school grades in algebra and in geometry, 
as recorded in 19 rej)resentative high schools, showed, for 
nearly 1000 pupils, a correlation of 0.45. 

Simpson publishes the following ''estimated true correla- 
tions for people in general" Avith efficiency in adding : Ebbing- 
haus completion test 0.65, hard opposites 0.70, easy opposites 
0.56, a-test 0.58, memory for passages 0.42, estimation of lengths 
0.00. The extended series of intercorrelations found by Brown, 
which are in general much lower than those of Simpson, will 
be found reproduced in Simpson (41, 107f.) as well as in the 
original text (5, 309-313, 316). 

Krueger and Spearman found a good degree of correlation 
between adding and pitch discrimination (raw correlation 
0.67, 'corrected' correlation 0.68, 'completed' correlation 0.80) 
and between adding and the Ebbinghaus test (raw correlation 
0.79, 'corrected' correlation 0.68, 'completed' correlation 0.93). 

Hollingworth (20) has studied the etfect of a long series of 
trials (over 200) upon the correlations between adding and 
various tests; the following are tj'pical results: 





TAPPING 


CO- 
ORDINATION 


DISCRIM. 
REACTION 


COLOR 
NAMING 


OPPOSITES 


1st trial ___ 
20oth trial- 


.45 

.57 


.21 

.16 


.23 
.15 


.26 
.76 


.23 

.76 



(9) Relation of speed and accnracy. While it is doubtless 
true that, for a given individual working under constant condi- 
tions, an increase of speed tends to produce an increase of 
errors, it is equally true that under actual working conditions 
a given individual may show an increase of speed coupled 
with a decrease in number of errors. When individuals are 
compared, it is found that the faster *S"s are, on the Avhole, also 
the more accurate /S"s. In six of his groups Brown found cor- 
relations between speed and accuracy of adding ranging from 
0.13 to 0.43, P.E.'s from .07 to .12. With small groups of col- 
lege students I have obtained similar positive correlations of 
0.19 in the case of adding and as high as 0.86 for mental multi- 
plication. 



108 [474] ASSOCIATION^ LEARNING AND MEMORY 

(10) Mental defectives. Eeis found that with paralytics and 
hebephrenics the average performance was less and the varia- 
bility greater than with normals. Similarly, Specht says that, 
though there appear decided individual differences in fatigua- 
bleness as shown by the adding test applied to normal indi- 
viduals, a still greater amount of fatiguableness appears when it 
is applied to patients in an insane hospital selected for their 
tendency toward easy fatiguableness in general. I have combined 
the data furnished by Bischoft" for 12 normal aS^'s and by Specht 
for IT normal and 6 insane >S"s when tested by their special 
form of the Kraepeliu addition test and scored according to the 
directions given above for that experiment. The results are 
given in Table 72. The differences between the two gTOups are 
readilj' obvious in Factors 8 and 9, Avhich reveal tendency to- 
ward fatigue, and in Factors 10 and 11, which show the total 
amount of work done. Analogous results have been reported 
by Katzen-Ellenbogen, who concludes that "the average curve 
of epileptics is decidedly different from the normal [curve] 
and characteristic of epilepsy." 

TABLE 72 

Average Scores of 29 Normal and 6 Insane Su'bjects in the Addition Test 
(After Specht and Bischoff). 

Normals. Patients. 

(1) Per cent, gain Gtli over 5th min., with pause. . 14.7 20.6 

(2) Per cent, gain 6tli over 5tli miu., no pause — 1.0 ■ — 3.9 

(3) Difference between (1) and (2) 15.7 24.5 

(4) Per cent, gain 2cl over 1st 5 min., with pause. . 4.4 — 0.3 

(5) Per cent, gain 2cl over 1st 5 miu., no pause. . . . ■ — 5.0 • — 11.4 

(6) Difference between (4) and (5) 9.9 11.1 

(7) Coefficient of practise 9.9 13.3 

(8) Coefficient of fatigue —12.6 —21.3 

(9) Per cent, gain 10th over 2d min., no pause • — 5.6 — 14.S 

(10) Additions 1st 5 min. in 1st trial 172.3 87.5 

(11) Total additions 1st 5 min. of all trials 3406.8 1157.6 

(12) Progress of practise 11.1 2.0 

(11) Miscellaneous influences. Hollingworth (19) used add- 
ing among other tests in his study of the effects of caffein and 
found that this drug produces pronounced stimulation in the 
processes of adding. 

Posture was found by Jones to affect the speed of adding; 
both children and college students could add somewhat faster 



TEST 35 : COMPUTATION [475] 109 

(approximately 3 to 8 per cent.) witli the body in a Iiorizontal, 
than with the body in a vertical position. 

The effect of distraction hy concomiitant activities, e. g., the 
reciting of a poem, was found by Vogt to reduce very mate- 
rially (58.5 per cent.) the number of additions made by the 
continuous (Kraepelin) method, but to have relatively little 
effect upon the simpler process of adding pairs of digits. 

(12) Fatigue and other factors of the loork curve. The use 
of computation tests to determine general mental efficiency at 
different hours of the day, with special reference to the per- 
formance of school children under classroom conditions, rep- 
resents a special form of experiment that oversteps the bound- 
aries of mental tests in their diagnostic use. In Avhat follows, 
therefore, 1 have limited the treatment to presenting typical 
results and to pointing out certain important general prin- 
ciples that have been established in this field. '^ 

(a) General analysis of the work curve. In other tests (espe- 
cially Nos. 10 and 26) we have had occasion to refer to the 
fact that , attempts to isolate fatigue from other influences 
affecting a curve of work are rendered difficult because of the 
presence of other complicating factors. Of these, practise is 
perhaps the most obvious and influential. Investigators have 
added, however, numerous other factors, such as recuperation, 
adaptation, momentum, swing, or fitness for work, warming-up, 
and spurts of various kinds. Extended accounts of these fac- 
tors will be found in Meumann (33, II, 8ff. and elsewhere), 
Schulze (40, 320ff.), and particularly in the writings of Kraepe- 
lin (26, 27) and his students. However patent and plausible 
these factors may appear from observation of our daily activi- 
ties, it seems probable that they have sometimes been invoked 
in explanation of work curves when actual demonstration of 
their existence is difficult, if not impossible.^ In work curves 
obtained from school children it is certain that loss of interest, 



'For a comprehensive critique of tlie experimental literature upon worlc 
and fatigue the reader is referred to Thorndilie (53). In my translation 
of Offner (35) there will also be found a more general discussion of the 
whole topic of mental fatigue. 

*Thorndike is especially severe in his criticism of the numerous lesser 
factors exploited by the Kraepelinian school. 



no [47(5] ASSOCIATION, LEARNIN(i AND MEMORY 

or ennui, and resultant carelessness complicate the performance 
seriously, and are often mistaken for the effects of true fatigue, 
in the sense of actual inability to work at a sustained level of 
efficiency. 

(h) Individual differences in the work curve. We have noted 
the i)resence of clear-cut individual differences in the speed 
and accuracy of computation ; there are also individual differ- 
ences in the course of the performance. Thus, both Kemsies 
and Keller conclude that mass results should be subjected to 
scrutiny to detect individual curves of performance if reliable 
information is to be secured concerning fatigue and overpres- 
sure in the schools. The recent work of Miss Martyn (32), 
similarly, has shown that the introduction of a rest pause may 
be favorable to some ^'s and unfavorable to others, and also 
that the effect of fatigue may be met and masked in some S'b 
by the presence in them of a strong permanent 'set' for accu- 
rate work. ''We may conclude," she says, "that fatigue cannot 
be invariably estimated by diminution either in sjieed or in 
accuracy of work, since habit and method of working bear an 
important relation to its manifestations" (32, p. 434). Again, 
the results obtained by Miss Arai and confirmed by numerous 
investigators make it fairly certain that the most competent 
workers are the ones least affected by fatigue. 

These individual differences in susceptibility to fatigue have 
tempted some investigators to sort /S*'s into certain groups or 
'types' of workers. If by 'types' is implied that individuals can 
be sorted into 'water-tight com})artments,' the hypothesis must 
be regarded as of doubtful utility. Illustrations are seen in 
the work of Kemsies, Avho distinguishes between persistent 
workers who fatigue slowly and profit much by practise and 
feeble workers who fatigue quickly and do not profit much by 
practise. Meumann's own investigations lead him (33: vol. 2, 
pp. 10-11) to posit three types of workers (quantitatively re- 
garded) : the first type attains maximal efficiency at the start 
and thence decreases with numy fluctuations: the second at- 
tains maximal efficiency only after an interval (of a length 
depending upon the kind of work) ; the third attains maximal 
efficiency only after a long period, perhaps several hours, of 



TEST 35: COMMUTATION 



II 



work. The iirst typo, llion, is cJiaracterized by ra])i<l adaiilatioii 
and j-apid fatigue, the second by slower adaptation and slower 
fatigue, the lliird by very slow adaptation and very great re- 
sistanee lo fatigue. Tlie third ty])e, he tliinks, is i»robal)ly more 
common in aduit mah-s, the tirst in women and eliildren. 

(c) The work curve for coiitinucd <;oiiij)ii.l(rlion. 1. Work 
without interruption. Oelirn found thai wlieii adults added 
continuously for 2 houi-s or moi*e, maximal si)eed was attained 
on the average at about 2S min. from the start. Sehuize tinds, 
however, that with school girls aged 12.5 years, signs of fatigue 
appear even in the Iirst 5 miii. The total number of additions 
made per minute by :37 girls was 1850, 1S71, ISO;}, 1785, and 
1772 for the 1st to the 5th minute, respectively. 

Schulze's results with the same pupils for longer ])eriods (50 
min. without ])ausej show a ])i-ogressive decrease both of (pian- 
tity and of (juality of work (Table 7o). These tigures, which 
are selected from the 0th of a series of exi)eriments, are based 
U])on the very easy ]U'ocess of adding two l-j)lac(i digits, so that 
practise has relatively little ell'ect, but fatigue diminishes elli- 
ciency. 



TABLE 73 

Efficiriicjj ill AildUio'it: Five lO-Minute I'ciiodn (hichulze) 



PERIOO OF 
TEN MINUTES 


TOTAL NUMBER OF 
ADDITIONS 


PERCENTAGE OF DE- 
CREASE OF QUANTITY 
OVER THE PREVIOUS 
PERIOD 


PERCENTAGE OF DE- 
CREASE OF QUALITY 
OVER THE PREVIOUS 
PERIOD 


I 

IT. 


17,740 
1(),72() 
15,855 
15,485 
15,134 


5.7 

5.2 
2.3 
2.3 


.09 


iir 


.03 


IV. 


.17 


V. — - 


.01 







The effect of continuous work ujton a very difficult task de- 
jjends upon th(! degi-ee of practise previously attained, the 
actual length of the work and I lie general condition of »S' when 
it is begun. Thus, Thorndike (51) induced 72 college students 
to multiply 3-place numbers mentally for about two hours, 



1.12 [478] ASSOCIATION^ LEAUNING AND MEMORY 

Avidi llic net result that tlie work iiiii)i'ove(l sollU'^^•lla( bolli in 
speed and acciiraey; iievei-tlieless, a rest of ',10 luin. eU'eded an 
increase of about 5 jier cent, in sjieed and a rest over ni^ld a 
slill further inerease in speed of about 7 per eent. l>ut wlien 
the same investigator had 1<; »S''s mentally multij)ly a 3-i)lace 
by a 2-plaee number eontinnously for from H to 8 hours, or 
(with ])auses for meals) from 4 to 12 hours, only 3 /8"s did 
as well at the end of their work period as when they had 
r(?sted; the results showed, as might be expected, a compound 
of gradually lessening practise and gradually increasing fa- 
tigue. Miss Aral, who mentally mnltii)lied 4-i)lace numbers 
for 11 or 12 hours at a stretch after practise-etlet-ts had been 
largely eliminated, found that the time needed to w'ork such 
examples was practically doubled at the end of eleven honrs.'-^ 
2. Work with interrui)tions. ^Vhen repeated computation 
tests are made williin an hour, the usual result is a progressive 
increase in the quantity, but a progressive decrease in the (]ual- 
ity of the work. Burgerstein's figures (Table 74) furnish a 
typical exam])le of the results for four 1(1 niin. periods with 5 
mill, resl -intervals between })eriods. 



TABLE 74 

Eflicicnci/ in Addition cnid MuUiplicdtioii irithiii an Hour (Burgcrstcin) 



PERIOO --rHEsV.Vr ^^ \ -MBKR 0. KK.OHS 


PERCENTAGE OF 
ERROR 


I. 


28,267 
32,477 
35,443 
39,450 


851 
1292 
2011 
2360 


3 01 


11 

III._ 


3.98 
5 67 


IV. _ 


5.98 







Miss Holmes' results are similar, though, on account of com- 
puting errors of a different plan ('seriaF errors counting but 



"111 a tost oonductod iiiuler my direction and as yet unimblished, Mr. 
rainier, after ])reliniinary 1 rials to remove most of the etfeet of practise, 
worked at dillimlr mental multii)lit'atioii, l)(\t,'imiinf;- late in the evening 
after a day's university work and continninij; until the task became impos- 
sible. The cessation of work was not gradual (with ability, for examiile. 
10 multiply 2-i)la('e numbers when 4-i)lace were impossible), but appeared 
as a sudden eollajise sueh that mental work of any sort was quite im- 
possible. 



TEST .J5 : COMPUTATION 



[479] 11.: 



as OIK? ci-ioi-j, I)('L- percentage of erroi- averaged }>ut l.'i, as 
against liurgcrstein's 3.'" 

The fOMuiion interpretation of results like liurgersteiii's lias 
been thai jjiaetise increases the speed of the work, while fatigue 
increases its inaccuracy'. But Ebbingliaus CiA, pp. 400f.j de- 
nies that })ractise could produce such marked increase of speed, 
and ascribes both the increase of speed and the decrease of 
accuracy primarily to increased haste and carelessness. 

(d) Effect of rent-pauses. ^Vhen, either from ennui or 
fatigue, efficiency tends to decline, a period of rest generally 
('exerts a favorable effect. With school children, as would be 
expected, such a pause is favorable even after relatively short 
work, as is illustrated by the data of Table 7.5, which are de- 
lived by Burgerstein from Hchulze. The effect of rest upon 
efficiency in mental multiplication after some two hours' work 
lias already been mentioned with reference to experiments with 
college students. The tests made by Friedrich upon 10-year-old 
pui>ils and by Kraepelin upon adults (20, pp. 10-17) furnish 
similar evidence of the effect of rest-pauses. 

TABLE 75 

Additions per rupil, ii:itlt and without a ReHt-Pauae (Burgcrstein-Hchu'ize) 





FIRST 25 MINUTES 


HEST-PAUSE 


SECOND 25 MINUTES 


First test 


1067 
1146 


5 min. 
None 


1088 


Second test 


1042 



(e) Efficiency at different periods of the day. Typical in- 
stances of the use of coini>utation as a test for the fatigue- 
effects of the regular school program are afforded by the expe- 
riments of Friedrich, of Laser, and of Ebbinghaus. This 
method has been adopted in jiart to avoid the entrance of ennui 
and carelessness pre\iously mentioned. 



"Miss Holmes' analysis of tlie errors showed that tlieir increase dnring 
the hour was due primarily to increased inaccuracy in associative pi'oc- 
esses, rather than to increased fre<juency of 'slips of the pen.' In genei'al, 
errors of transcription were about one-third as numerous as errors of 
association. 



Ill I ISO] Asson.vnoN. i.kaumnc; a\i> mkmouv 

LascM-'s (csts, at hourly iuU>r\als. of ■_'•_'() pujiils (ai;iMi !) i:> 
vcars) in a lvouij>'sboi\u- liiir(/crf<clnilc arc snmiuari/.rd in Table 
7(5. Inspoclion shows (hat, savo t'i>r tho -"tth ptM-iod, tho out- 
oonio is tho sanio as that of tho tosts I'or an luuir's tinio by 
Hurg'orstoin, viz.: a j>roiii'ossivo incroaso in sfXH'tl and dori'oaso 
in aoonrarv of i'onii>ntation. 



Efflciviwy ill Comiutldlii'ii iritliin a School Session {Laser) 



TEST AKTKK 
SCHOOL PKUIOU 


TOTAL Nl'MBKK 01'' 
KIOUKKS AOOKll 


TOTAL Nl'MHKK OK 
KKUOKS 


rKKOKNTAO.E OP 
KKIIUR 


I 


• 34.900 

40.1U11 
43.1-24 
43.999 
45.890 


1147 

1400 
1713 
179G 
IGGS 


3.28 


ir. _ 


. 3.59 


III 


3.79 


IV 


4.08 


V 


3.G3 







libbiniihaus, Avho sonii'ht (o dolorniino tho desirability or un- 
desirability of a Tvlionr t'onlinnons sehool session in a (///;/(- 
nasiinii and hioher girls" srluntl at Ureslan, obtaincnl results 
ideutieal with those of leaser so far as the qualitative aspects 
are eom-erntHl, but dilVerin_i»' somewhat as regards (he <iuantita- 
tive aspects, nioro par(icnlarly in thai speinl of computation 
reached a maximum at (lie close of (he -d school period, to re- 
main ther(>af(er almost constant or (o fall otf sliuhlly (oward 
the clos(> of (he session. Friedvich's results lead liiui lo advise 
lighter work in the afternoon session, iiellei found that boys 
and girls aged TJ solved problems in division more slowly and 
less accurately in thi> af(ernt>on (ban in the morning. Marsh 
tested bul a few individuals, so (ha( i( is [U'obably unsafe to 
make induclions from his da(a. which vseemed to indicate a 
greater etllciency in adding a( noon ilian later in the day. and 
in multii>licatiou at betwcvn l.,'>() and »> [>. m. than at (! or at 
lO.oO p. m. JMiss Martin had (I N's add for IT) min. at 10. 1- and 
4 o'clock, with the result that slightly more sums wtn-e com- 
pleted at 12 and somewhat fewer at 4 than at 1(1; the ditl'er- 
ences are, however, inside the probable^ error. The work of the 
first 5 min. was relatively poorer in the afternoon, due, she 



'I'KST .'55: co.Mi'i'rA'noN I'^-'^M ' ' •"* 

III inks, (() ii Inter ciil i-juicc of Aiircf/unf/ ;il tliiil lime 'I'lu- tiiosl; 
snilliorilJil ivc hihoniloiy sliidy of cflicicrK y in <-jiIcijIhI ion at 
(lirfcTcnf |)Ci'io<lH of I Ik; dny, liovvcvci-, is lli;il of iloiiiii^woHli 
(IJOiij, who IijhI opporhinKy (lm-iii}>' his cxiicriiuciils iipfjii (h(i 
I'tt'dviH of ciilVciii io wiilcli Ihc (liiil.v curvoH of >S"s whoHe work 
WJiH done iiiidci- cxccpl ioiKilly {^ooiJ coiidifions as r('ji;ardH fdirni- 
iialioii of {)i'aclise cr-i-or. In I he iis(; of (lie coristMnl-iricrernerit 
lest (iuUUu^ 17 Io no 2-\>\n((^ iiiiinhcrsj :il S, 10, 12, .'i and 5.30 
o'clock ihei-(; iipix'aicd |)i-o}^f(*Hsiv(; fali«4uc Jinioiinl inj^ to about 
a 2 per cent. Icnj^lhcnin^- of Ihe time ;il each li-iul, with a total 
lengthening' of 7.50 pei- c(;nt. in the case of 5 women and 10.5 
|;ei- cent, in Ihe cas(; of 5 irien. In fni-thei- iis<' of the same test 
in ii more inlensivc; exijei-iment (15 li'ials between 10.30 A. M. 
jind 10.30 1*. M.) there appeared, again, a lenglliening of abont 
10 i)er cent, toward tlie end of the day. 

Jleck tested 1153 New York school children ( 18j and 573 
Ijynchbnrg, Va., children (17j \villi;i modilical ion of the Courtis 
tesfs for llie fnndamental a I'i linnet icai opei-at ions. The New York 
tests lasted 10 min., those at Lynchburg 25 niin., and they were 
disti-ibnted ovei- various periods of the s<-liool session, particu- 
larly at 0, 11, 1 and 2.:{0 (j'clock. The general result was an 
inci'<;as(! in (juanlity and a deci-ease in quality toward the close 
of the day; at New York, for instance, quantity increased by 
1.57, 1.04 and 2.30 jjer cent, in Ihe 2d, 3d and 4th periods, whik 
(pialily deci'eas<;d by 1.5], 1.41 and 2.2M jjer cent, in the corre- 
sponding periods. These differences are so slight as to be peda- 
gogically negligible, in 1he oi)inion of Heck. The inferior qual- 
ity of <lje later pej-iods is, Ik; Ihinks, more likely a sign of 
lessened intei-est Ihan of consumfdion of energy or any sort of 
faligue-jjoisoning. Itather elabojate iests with computalion 
and othei- foi-nis of school work by Jiobinson in Soutli Carolina 
show in genei-al little evid<;nce of actual loss of ability towar<l 
Ihe close of the s<-hool session." ''Hie same conclusion has been 
reached by Tho)-ndik<' M5j fiom schooh'ooni tests at Cleveland, 
Ohio, and Sci-anton, I'a. He emphasizes the statement that 

"Consult, IIjc ori^'in.'il Uiv ;i <li.scuH.sioii of ihe criccls of recesses, liimlifs, 
KyinnaslicH, siiiKiii;<, s|ie(i.il iiieiloiiicnt. eir., uiiou pei-roi'iiiiuice in such 
tests. 'J'lic niJiin eonelnsions jirc also suinniaiized in ./h'd/'x, '.i: 1912, 
503-595. 



116 [482] ASSOCIATION, LEARNING AND MEMORY 

"incompetence, mental fatigue, does not come in regular propor- 
tion to the work done," tliat feelings of fatigue are not meas- 
ures of mental inability, that disinclination to work does not 
signify inability to work. It may be questioned, however, 
whether this demonstration that pupils can work nearly as well 
at the end of school session as at its beginning is equivalent, 
as some writers have thought, to a demonstration that they 
should be expected to work as well at the later periods. 

A special study of fatigue in evening schools by Winch leads 
him to the conclusion "that evening work is comparatively 
unprofitable, and that a short time in class in the evening is 
sufficient, p?»s the labors of the day, to induce a low condition 
of mental energy." 

Notes. — Those who have used computation tests have not 
sought, as a rule, to examine the mental processes involved in 
them. Oehrn, however, calls attention to the fact that practise 
in adding (by the Kraepelin method) tends to induce quasi- 
automatic addition. This circumstance, taken in conjunction 
with the relatively small correlations betweeii different forms 
of computation themselves, and between them and other abili- 
ties, including general intelligence, lends countenance to Wells' 
objection (55) to accepting the computation test, without fur- 
ther qualification, as a measure of general mental efficienc3\ 

Wyatt's 'missing digit' test forms an interesting modification 
of the computation test. In it examples in addition, subtrac- 
tion, multiplication and division are given in which one or 
more figures, both in the answer and in the body of the ex- 
ample, are replaced by dots : the task is to restore the figures 
correctly. The following will serve to illustrate his material: 

2.1U 
.867 
781.. 



,42.6 



TEST 35: COMPUTATION [4<S3] 117 

REFERENCES 

(1) IT. Aikins, E. L. Thorndike and Elizabeth Ilubbell, Correlations 
anion;,' perceptive and associativo processes. Psii, 9 : 1902, 374-382. 

(2) Tsnru Arai, Mental fatigue. CohimbiaConEil, No. 54. New York, 
1912. Pp. 11.5. 

(3) Bellei, Ulteriore contribute alio studio della fatiga nientale nei 
fanciulli. Rcyvhta spcrim, <li frenkitria, 30 : May, 1904. See summary by 
Hinet, AnPs, 11 : (1904) 1905, 309. 

(4) E. Biscbolf, Untersuchungen iiber Uebungsfiihigkeit und Ermiid- 
l»arkelt bei 'geistiger' und 'korperlicber' Arbeit.' ArOesPs, 22: 1912, 423- 
452. 

(5) W. Brown, Some experimental results in the correlation of mental 
abilities. BrJl's, 3: 1910, 290-322. (Forms 3d part of his Use of the 
theory of correlation in psychology. Cambridge, 1910. Pp. 83.) 

(G) L. Burgerstein, Die Arbeitskurve einer Schulstunde, ZScGd, 4: 
1891, 543-504, 0OT-(J2T. Also published separately in German, and in con- 
densed form in English as : The working curve of an hour. 

(7) L. Burgerstein und A. Netolitzky, Ilandbuch der Schulhygiene, 2d 
ed. Jena, 1902. Pp. 997. 

(8) W. P. Burris, The correlations of the abilities involved in second- 
ary school work. ColnmljiaConPhPs, 11: 1903, 10-28. 

(9) C. Burt, Experimental tests of higher mental processes and their 
relation to intelligence. JEPd, 1 : 1911, 93-112. 

(10) C. Burt and K. C. Moore, The mental differences between the 
sexes. JEPd, 1 : 1912, 273-284, 355-388. 

(11) W. G. Chambers, Individual differences in grammar-grade chil- 
di-en. JEdPs, 1 : 1910, 61-75. 

(12) S. A. Courtis, The Courtis tests in arithmetic. Final Rept. Edu- 
cational Investigation Committee on School Liqniry, City of Neic YoiJc. 
Vol. I, New York. 1911-1913. Pp. 397-540. 

(13) M. E. Donovan and E. L. Thorndike, Improvement in a practise 
experiment under school conditions. AmJPs, 24 : 1913, 420-8. 

(14) H. Ebbinghaus, Ueber eine neue Methode zur Priifung geistiger 
Fiihigkeiten in ihre Anwendung bei Schulkindern. ZPs, 13 : 1897, 401-457. 

(15) W. S. Fox and E. L. Thorndike, The relationships between the 
different abilities involved in the study of arithmetic. Sex differences in 
arithjuetical ability. ColuinbiaConPhPs, 11 : Feb., 1903, 32-40. 

(]G) J. Friedrich, Untersuchungen iiber die Einflusse der Arbeitsdauer 
und der Arbeitspausen auf die geistige Leistungsfilhigkeit der Schul- 
kinder. ZPs, 13 : 1897, 1-53. 

(17) W. II. Heck, A study of mental fatigue in relation to the daily 
school program. Lynchburg, Va., 1913. Pp. 28. 

(18) W. H. Heck, A second study of mental fatigue in relation to the 
daily school program. PsCl, 7: 1913, 29-34. 

(19) H. L. Hollingworth, The influence of calfein on mental and motor 
efficiency. ArPsie), No. 22 {GolumhiaConPhPs, 20, No. 4). New York 
1912. I'p. IGG. 

(20) H. L. Hollingworth, Correlation of abilities as affected by prac- 
tise. JEdPs, 4 : 1913. 405-414. 

(20a) II. L. Hollingworth, Variations in efficiency during the working 
day. PsR, 21 : 1914, 47.3-491. 

(21) Marion E. Holmes, The fatigue of a school hour. PdSe, 3 : 1895, 
213-324. 



118 [484] ASSOCIATION, LEARNING AND ISIEMORY 

(22) E. E. Jones, The iuflnence of bodily posture on mental activities, 
N. Y., 1907. Pp. 60. (Reprinted from ArPs(e), No. 6.) 

(23) E. Katzen-EUenbogeu, The mental elBcienoy in epileptics. Epi- 
lepHa, vol. 3, 504-546. 

(24) R. Keller, IJeber den 40-Minutenunterricbtsbetrieb des Gym- 
nasiums u. der Industriescbule in Wintertbur. InMagScHyg, 2 : 1906, 
298-330, especially 307-318. 

(25) ¥. Kemsies, Arbeitsbygiene der Scbule auf Grund von Ermiid- 
ungsmessuugen. ^mAl)l\lPs, 2 : 1898. Pp. 64. 

(26) E. Kraepelin, Ueber geistige Arbeit, 2d ed. Jena, 1897. Pp. 29. 

(27) E. Kraepelin, Die Arbeitscurve. PhS(l,19: 1902,459-507. 

(28) F. Krueger uud C. Spearman, Die Korr elation zwiscben verscbie- 
denen geistigen Ijeistungsfabigkeiten. ZPs, 44: 1907, 50-114. 

(29) H. Laser, Ueber geistige Ermiidung beim Scbuliinterrichte. 
ZScGd, 7 : 1894, 2-22. 

(30) H. D. Marsh, The diurnal course of eflBciency (Columbia Univ. 
thesis), N. Y., 1900. Pp. 99. 

(31) (Jladys W. Martin, The evidence of mental fatigue during school 
hours. JEPd,l: 1911,39-45,137-147. 

(32) Gladys W. Martvn, A study of mental fatigue. BrJPs, 5: 1913, 
427-446. 

(33) E. Meumann, Vorlesungen zur Einfiihrung in die exp. Piida- 
gogik, 1st ed., 2 vols., Leipzig, 1907. Pp. 555 and 467. 

(.34) A. Oehrn. Exp. Studien zur Individualpsychologie. PsArb, 1: 
1896, 92-151. 

(35) M. Oifner, Mental fatigue. (Eng. trans.) EdPsMon. Balti- 
more, 1911. Pp. 133. 

(36) Louise E. Ordahl, Consciousness in relation to learning. AmJPs, 
22 : 1911, 158-213, especially 194-202. 

(37) J. Reis, Ueber einfachepsycliologische Versuche an Gesunden u. 
Geisteskranken. PsArb, 2 : 1899, 587-694. 

(38) L. A. Robinson, Mental fatigue and school efficiency. BiiU. Win- 
ilirop Normal and- Industrial College of South Carolina, 5: 1911. Pp. 56. 

(39) R. Schulze, 500,000 Rechenaufgaben. Eine exp. Untersuchung. 
Pralctiselie Sehuhnann, 4A: 1895,340. 

(40) R. Schulze, Experimental psychology and pedagogy. (Eng. 
trans.) New York, 1912. Pp. 364. 

(41) B. R. Simpson, Correlations of mental abilities. ColumbiaConEd, 
No. 53. New York, 1912. Pp. 122. 

(42) W. Specht, Ueber klinische Ermiidungsmessungen. ArGesPs, 3: 
1904, 245-339. 

(43) D. Starch, Transfer of training in arithmetical operations. 
JEdPs, 2 : 1911, 306-310. 

(44) Teljatnik, article in Russian. See for details, Burgerstein u. 
Netolitzky, 4 ; especially pp. 462-5. 

(45) E. L. Thorndike, Mental fatigue. PsR, 7: 1900, 466-482, 547-579. 

(46) E. L. Thorndike. Educational psj'^chology, 2d ed., N. Y., 1910. 
Pp. 248. 

(47) E. L. Thorndike, Measurements of twins. Archives of Phil, 
Psych, etc.. No. 1, Sept., 1905. Pp. 64. 

(48) E. L. Thorndike, The effect of practise in the case of a purely 
intellectual function. AmJPs, 19 : 1908, 374-384. 

(49) E. L. Thorndike, Practise in the case of addition. AmJPs, 21: 
1910, 483-486. 

(50) E. L. Thorndike, Mental fatigue. JEdPs, 2: 1911, 61-80. 



TEST 36: MlRROR-DRA\VlN(i [485j 119 

(51) E. L. Tliohulike, The effect of continuous exercise and of vest 
upon difficult mental multiplication. JEdPs, 5 : 1914, 597-599. 

(52) ]i;. L. Tliorndike, Measurements of ability to solve arithmetical 
problems. PdSe, 21 : 1914, 495-503. 

(53) E. L. Thorndike, Educational Psychology, Vol. III. (Mental 
work and fatigue, etc.) New York, 1914. Pp. 408, especially Chs. 2 and 3. 

(54) R. Vogt, Ueber Ablenkbarkeit und Gewolinungsfilhigkeit. PsArb, 
3 : 1901, 62-201, especially 80-118, 131-135. 

(55) ¥. L. Wells, Technical aspects of experimental psycho-pathology. 
AniJIns, 64: 1908, 477-512. 

(56) F. L. Wells, The relation of practise to individual differences. 
AmJPs, 23 : 1912, 75-88. 

(57) F. L. Wells, Standard tests of arithmetical associations. JPh, 
4: 1907, 510-512. 

(58) W. H. Winch, Some measurements of mental fatigue in adoles- 
cent pupils in evening school. JEdPs, 1 : 1910, 13-23, 83-100. 

(59) W. II. Winch, Accuracy in school childi'en. Does improvement 
in numerical accuracy 'transfer?' JEdPs, 1: 1910, 557-589. 

(60) W. H. Winch, Further work on numerical accuracy in school 
children. Does improvement in numerical accuracy transfer? JEdPs. 2: 
1911, 262-271. 

(61) K. S. Woodworth and F. L. Wells, Association tests. PsMoii, 
No. 57, 1911. Pp. 85, especially 44-48. 

(62) S. Wyatt. The quantitative investigation of higher mental proc- 
esses. BrJPs,iJ: 1913,109-133. 

TEST 36 

Mirror-drawing, — The preceding tests of association deal 
with aS^'s facilitj' in producing unrestricted series, or in repro- 
ducing restricted series that have already been learned. The 
present test compels 8 to form a new series of associations that 
are opposed to associations stereotyped by several years of 
daily experience. 

More particularl}'^, in tracing an ordinary drawing the move- 
ments of the hand are guided hy the visual perception of the 
drawing, plus kinesthetic sensations set up by the movement 
of the pencil. If the drawing is seen not directly, but in a mir- 
ror, the natural relations are reversed in certain respects, so 
that a new series of associative connections must be established 
between eye and hand. The rapidity and ease Avith which these 
new connections are established may be taken as an index of 
learning-capacity. 

Learning is often said to take place either by practise (trial 
and error), by imitation, or by some form of ideational control 
(instruction, reasoning, etc.). In the mirror -drawing test, the 
conditions preclude the use of imitation, and there is but rela- 



120 [486] ASSOCIATION^ LEARNING AND MEMORY 

tively little opportunit}' to emploj^ ideational control ; whatever 
improvement apj^ears is due primarily to a process of trial and 
error. 

The interesting phenomena of mirror-writing are mentioned 
in ps3'chological literature as earlj- as the 90's, if not before, but 
the first use of mirror-drawing as a psychological experiment 
appears to be found in Henri's article on the muscular sense 
(9) and in his monograph on tactual space perception of the 
same year, 1898. W. F. Dearborn (7), independently, expe- 
rimented with mirror-drawing in 1905, though his work was 
not reported until after other writers, likewise independently, 
had hit upon a similar idea. In addition to Dearborn, Judd 
(11, p. 99) Starch (16) and Hill (10) have called attention to 
the usefulness of mirror-drawing as a demonstration experiment 
to illustrate the acquisition of motor habits, the trial and 
error method of learning, the cross-transfer of practise-effects, 
and the like. Burt, Yoakum and Calfee, Miss Weidensall and 
others have used mirror-drawing to test quickness of learning,^ 
and its correlation with sex, intelligence and other factors. 

Apparatus. — Mirror. Cardboard screen about 17x24 cm. 
Suitable supports for holding the cardboard. Thumb tacks. 
Stop-watch. Two kinds of diagrams, printed in red ink, for 
tracing: (a) a 6-pointed star, (&) a set of 6 patterns, each 
based upon a group of 12 points arranged at equidistant in- 
tervals in a circle about its central point, with guiding lines 
joining the 13 points in irregular fashion. [Mechanical counter. 
A strong prism (about 20 D.).] 

The six patterns resemble those used by Miss Calfee and Yoakum, but 
differ from them in eliminating the numbering of the points. S is directed 
from one point to the next by means of arrows and broken red lines, and 
does not have, therefore, to spend a portion of his time in hunting for the 
numbering to discern the order in which the points are connected. These 
patterns are somewhat more difficult than the star in so far as the direc- 
tion of the movement of the hand is not the same in the various trials — 
a matter of advantage, however, since the series of trials does not develop 
a specific memory for a given set of hand movements. On the other hand, 
these patterns are less difficult than the star in so far as S is not required 
to follow the directing lines exactly. The patterns also more nearly re- 
semble than does the star test the mirror test used by Burt, in which S 



Tor a discussion of prolonged adaptation to mirror-vision, see Strat- 
ton (18). 



TEST 36 : MIRROR-DRAWING [487] 121 

was required to punch with a stylus through 8 or more orifices arranged 
in a circle about an orifice at the center. They are superior to Burt's 
material in several respects. 

Whether the stars or the patterns are used will depend upon circum- 
stances. Either form of material may be used as supplementary to the 
other ; thus, the star test may be used before and after drill work with 
the 6 patterns for an experiment to test the effect of practise. 

Preliminaries. — Pin the diagram out flat upon a table, di- 
rectly in front of ;S^. If tbe patterns are used, they should be 
taken in the order of their numbering. If the star is used, it 
should be placed with the cross-line that indicates the starting- 
point at the back (away from 8) and with the card square with 
the edge of the table. (This brings the star slightly 'out of' 
true,' as is intended.) Set up the mirror inclined slightly 
(about 5 deg.) from the vertical, Just beyond the .diagram. Ar- 
range the screen (see Fig. 64) so that it will cut off /S's direct 
view of the diagram, but will allow him to see it clearly in the 
mirror, and will not interfere with his hand in drawing. 

Method. — {a) With the patterns. Place the point of a lead 
pencil at the center of the diagram. Assist S to grasp the pen- 
cil (permitting him to look only in the mirror) . Instruct him : 
''When I say 'now,' move your pencil along the paper in the 
direction indicated by the red arrow till you reach the point 
at the end of. the broken line; then follow the red line from 
that point to the next one, and so on till you have touched all 
12 of the points on the paper and come to the end of the red 
dashes. You don't have to keep on the lines ; they are put there 
simply to show you where to look for the points, but you must 
keep your pencil on the paper, and you must bring your pencil 
to each point before 3'ou go on to the next one. Work as rap- 
idly as you can. Don't stop to 'figure out what 3='0U ought to do, 
but keep your pencil moving all the time." Start the watch 
at the signal, and record the time for the entire diagram. Pin 
down the second pattern and continue until all six patterns 
have been traced. 

(&) With the star. Place the point of a lead pencil upon the 
cross-line of the star, and assist S to grasp the pencil (permit- 
ting him to look only in the mirror). Instruct 8: "Trace the 
outline of the star, starting in this direction [indicating, 1)}/ 
'pointing^, the tip of the star at the right of the cross-line]. 



122 [-iSS] ASSOCIATION, LEARNING AND MEMORY 




I'lO. ()4. THE MlKnOR-DKAWING TEST. 



AVoi'k as rapidly as you can, but tri/ to keep oit the liitc. Don't 
stop to figure out what you ouglit to do, but keep your pencil 
going- ill some direction, and kec]) its point on the paper all 
the time.'' Start the watch, and record the time for the entire 
draAYing. 

E may also note the time for each sixth of the pattern, lint 
it is, perhaps, more desirable to sup])lement the total time by 
a record of the total number of correctiYe moYements made by 
aS*. Since these moYements are often rapid, and of short extent, 
it is necessary to use a mechanical or other form of counter to 
obtain the record. Press the counter eYery time aS* niOYes to- 
ward the liue.- 

For a standard test, make G trials AYith the right hand, using 
fi fresh star for each trial. 

Variations op Method. — Make tests with the star before and 
after a drill series with the patterns, as suggested aboYe, or 



'"Every 'error," or niovenient away from the line must, of course, be com- 
pensated for by a return movement. The idea is to register the number 
of these errors, or corrective movements. Changes of direction necessi- 
tated by the pattern itself are, obviously, to be neglected. 



TEST .')(j : MlUItUU-DKAWlNli 



[4S!> 



with either form of material make a first trial with the left 
hand; follow Avith a series of 5 to 50 trials with the right hand,' 
then return to the left hand for a final test. Note how much 
practise elfect has heen 'transferred' from the one hand to the 
other. Plot a graph to show the effect of practise, both upon 
the time and upon the corrective movements. 

Treatment op Data. — In the standard form of test J^ has 
available 6 records. Several possibilities appear: aS"s may be 
compared with respect to (1) their 1st trial, (2) their 6th trial, 
(3) all 6 trials taken collectively (sum or average), or with re- 
spect to their rate of improvement, by computing the per cent, 
of gain either (4) in the Gth, compared with the 1st trial, or 
(5) in the average of the last three, compared with the average 
of the first three trials. The third method Avas found by Burt 
to yield the best correlation with intelligence. On the other 
hand, the 2d method would seem to have some merit, since 
Yoakum and Calfee conclude that "the time consumed in the 
first trial is an individual variation; that of the last [Gth] more 
nearly represents the individual's place in the group." Until 
we have more investigations on this point it would be better for 
E to try more than one method of ranking iS"s and to select the 
one which gave the most favorable results. 

Eesults. — (1) The best norms for the patterns are supplied 
by the results of Yoakum and Calfee, embodied in Table 78; 
results from a more limited number of college students with the 
star test are shown in Table 77, and for other groups in Tables 
79 and 80. 



Effect ol 


Practise 


TABLE 77 

on Hpccd ill Mirror- 
(Whipple) 


Drawing. Cotlegc St a 


dents 




NUMBER 


1st 

LEFT 


1st 

RIGHT 


2d 

RIGHT 


3d 

RIGHT 


4th 

RIGHT 


5th 

RIGHT 


2d 

LEFT 


Men 

Women __ 


11 

23 


169 
149 


127 
127 


108 

87 


96 

76 


80 
67 


67 
67 


88 
74 





















^If desired, the C patterns may be used, turned to bring the other edges 
at the baclv, in order to provide drill without direct repetition of the same 
diagram. 



124 [490] ASSOCIATION^ LEARNING AND MEMORY 

(2) Individual differences in performance are striking; thus, 
in the star test the time consnmed in making the first tracing 
ranged, in the author's tests of 34 students, from about 50 sec. 
to more than 8 min. In the larger group of students examined 



TABLE 78 

I'imcs, ill, fSec, for Mirror-Drawing {Yoakum and Calfec) 



GROUP 


TRIAL 


I 


II 


III 


IV 


V 


VI 


AVER. 


!-___ 


Median 


243.0 


121.0 


93.0 


82.0 


68.0 


50.0 


110.33 




M.V. 


94.9 


45.5 


28.1 


34.7 


24.7 


17.1 


36.57 




Slowest 


517.0 


245.0 


205.0 


180.0 


158.0 


113.0 


210.00 




Fastest 


69.0 


51.0 


41.0 


43.0 


40.0 


32.0 


53.66 


II_ 


Median 


92.0 


65.0 


48.0 


41.0 


35.0 


28.0 


54.70 




M.V. 


64.1 


33.9 


26.6 


19.3 


21.9 


14.2 


27.40 




Slowest 


700.5 


337.5 


303.5 


153.5 


201.8 


171.0 


242.37 




Fastest 


31.5 


23.5 


19.3 


18.3 


17.8 


17.0 


23.95 


III____ 


Median 


167.5 


105.0 


80.0 


68.0 


56.0 


48.0 


97.83 




M.V. 


104.2 


39.3 


30.3 


19.7 


19.9 


13.5 


33.38 




Slowest 


752.0 


277.0 


270.0 


175.0 


121.0 


105.0 


193.33 




Fastest 


72.0 


49.0 


40.0 


34.0 


33.0 


23.0 


46.87 



Group I comprised 30 elementary school boys. Group II, 52 women, 
and Group III, 51 men in the freshman class of the University of Texas. 
The averages for each group in each trial are not here reproduced. 

at Texas differences range from 31.5 to 752 sec, while the fastest 
college girl tested hj Miss Weidensall had a record of 18 sec, 
as compared with 2072 sec. for the slowest reformatory woman 
(Table 79). These differences, as inspection of the tables will 
show, are greatly reduced after a little practise. 

(3) Dependence on sex. That girls decidedly surpass boys 
and that women decidedly surpass men is shown in all the pub- 
lished results in mirror-drawing, with the exception of two 
groups reported b^' Burt and Moore, and in them certain diver- 
gencies in method and in other test conditions offer a sufficient 
explanation of the apparent exception. Miss Calfee's averages 
for six trials give for the freshmen women 64.4 sec, P.E. 22,3, 
for the freshmen men 101 sec, P.E. 28.5. She finds that only 
G per cent, of the men reach the women's median, while 90.4 



TEST 3G: MIRROR-DRAWING [491] 125 

per cent, of the women reach the men's median. It is not only 
possible, but probable, that this sex-difference is in some part 
due to greater familiarity of women with the use of the mirror. 
Burt believes that there is also an innate sex difference at work. 

(4) Dependence on practise, [a) General practise-effects. 
The tables given above show that even a single trial produces 
a decided reduction in time: the median time for elementary 
school boys, for example, is cut in halves in the pattern test, 
while that for men and women is reduced one-third by the 
first trial. (See Fig. 65.) The long practise experiment con- 
ducted by Starch with the star test shows (Fig. 66) that the 
reduction is rapid at first, then slower, and that maximal 
speed is not attained for a long time, apparently not until some 
90 trials (Starch's curve represents a series of 100 trials, one 
per day). 

(6) Individual differences in practise-effects. Practise curves 
compounded of the performances of a group of ^'s show a 
smooth drop (see Fig. 65), but the curves of individual >S"s are 
not necessarily^ of this form : on the contrary, it is possible, as- 
Yoakum and Calfee have shown (22, p. 290), to separate >S's 
into groups that show the 2d trial slower than the 1st, or the 
3d slower than the 2d, etc. These investigators summarize these 
facts by saying : "Some ^"s gain control of the situation by a 
fairl}^ regular procedure; others temporarily lose control at 
some point in the series. The majority of the latter lose control 
at the fourth or fifth trial in a series of six tests." It follows 
that the rank-order of ^'s in any one trial does not correlate 
perfectly with their rank-order in any other trial ; actual corre- 
lations computed by Yoakum and Calfee between the first and 
subsequent trials are 0.79, 0.76, 0.74, 0.64 and 0.59 for the 2d, 
3d, 4th, 5th and 6th trial, resjjectively. The correlation be- 
tween the first trial and the avferage of all 6 trials is given by 
them as 0.93. 

(c) Cross-education. A considerable amount of practise 
gained with the one hand is transferred to the other (unprac- 
tised) hand. Thus, Starch's 100-day practise with the right 
hand effected an improvement in it of 92 per cent, in accuracy 
and of 84 per cent, in speed. A single left-hand record, made 



12G [492] ASSOCIATION, LEARNING AND MEMORY 



E 

\ 
























•tMW 












T 
























O ,, 




^ 








no 




^ 












\ 


V 


\ 








\ 


V 




'^ \ 


-^ 


1 

3 




N 


^ 














^ 



FIG. G5. THE EFFECT OF PRACTISE DURING SIX TRIALS UPON THE AVERAGE 

SPEED OF MIRROR-DBA WING. (Froui Yoakuui aiid Calfee) 

The abscissas represent the six trials, running from left to right. The 
orclinates represent time in sec. 'E' is the curve for the 30 elementary 
school boys. 'B' for the 51 freshmen men, 'G' for tlie 52 freshmen women, 
'T' for the 103 freshmen collectively. 



TEST 36: MIUROU -DUAWIXG 



[493] 127 



at the expiration of this period, showed, in comparison with a 
single left-hand record made before practise began, an improve- 
ment of 81 per cent, in accuracy and of 85 per cent, in speed. 
There is, however, nothing surprising in this so-called 'cross- 




66. THE EFFECT' OF LONG PRACTISE UPON MIEROE-DRAWING. 

(From Starch) 



education,' since the tracing of the star in the mirror depends 
primarily upon co-ordinations established in the central ner- 
vous system : in other words, the transfer is only an outwardly 
apparent transfer ; in reality, the same factors are at work in 
the control of either hand. 

(d) Persistence of practise. The effect of even a short period 
of practise in mirror-drawing is very persistent. Thus, Burt 
administered 6 tests in succession, during which the average 
speed fell from 103 to 39.5 sec. Twelve weeks later, two tests 
were given in succession ; the average speed developed was 34.5 
sec. in the first, and 27.4 sec. in the second : in other words, the 
7th test surpassed the 6th, made 12 weeks previously — a condi- 
tion found in the records of 16 out of 26 boys. The extent to 
which this persistence of practise-efifect was shared by Burt's 



128 [494] ASSOCIATION^, LEARNING AND MEMORY 

^'s is further indicated by tlie correlation of 0.52 between their 
standing before, and their standing after the 12-week interval. 
Hill's work (10b) shows that the skill developed by one trial 
a day, continued for 50 days, is so persistent that after an in- 
terruption of three years the first trial in relearning is as fast 
as the 32d and more accurate than the 50th trial of the original 
series, and that in four retrials a speed and accuracy has been 
regained that is equal to the final records of the original series. 
Mirror-drawing seems, therefore, to resemble neuro-muscular 
habits, like skating, typewriting, etc., in the manner in which 
skill once developed is retained with little loss over long periods, 
rather than the associative connections of ideational life with 
their relatively lesser persistence. 

(5) Dependence on intelligence. Burt reports a correlation 
between speed and estimated intelligence of 0.67, P.E. .07, for 
elementary school boys, and of 0.54, P.E. .14, for preparatory 
school boys. In another group of English school children a 
correlation of 0.60 was found, according to Burt and Moore. 
Miss Calfee, however, found no such relations in her group of 
elementary school children chosen to duplicate Burt's condi- 
tions : here the correlation with school grades was virtually 
zero (0.07) ; similarly, in the college students the correlation 
with grades was — .07 in the case of the men and 0.19 in the 
case of the women. The author was able to discern no constant 
differences between the work of five dull and five bright boys. 

(6) Delinquents. Comparative stud}- of the star-test (5 suc- 
cessive trials) with college girls, maids in college dormitories 
and girls at Bedford Hills, N. Y., Reformatory, conducted by 
Miss Weidensall, reveals a number of interesting results. From 
advance sheets of her manuscript,- for which I am indebted to 
Dr. Weidensall, I have selected data referring primarily to the 
time records only* (Tables 79 and 80) . The first of these tables 
shows that, both in the first and in the last trial, and whether 



'Dr. Weidensall expects to publish also data for the number of errors 
(corrective movements) and for the degree of 'precision' with which the 
line is followed. Precision has been measured by ascertaining the total 
number of cm. in the contour of the star in which, for distances of 3 or 
more consecutive mm., the tracing remained within 2 mm. either way from 
the red line. 



TEST 3G: MIRROri-nUAWlNG 



[495] 129 



maximal, minimal, median, average or ui)per or lower quartile 
is considered, the three groups are invariably arranged in the 
same order — students best, Bedford women last and the maids 
intermediate. The second of these tables shows that there 

TABLE 79 

Times, in »S'cc., Used in the ^tar Test Jjy 36 College Girls, 16 College Maids 
and 69 Bedford Reformatory Women (Weidensall) 





COLLEGE GIRLS 


COLLEGE MAIDS 


REFORMATORY WOMEN 




1st Star 


5th Star 


1st Star 


5th Star 


1st star 


5th Star 


Fastest _ 


18. 


7. 


36. 


21. 


59. 


36. 


Uppor Q. 


41. 


17.5 


54. 


29.5 


203.6 


80. 


Median _ 


66. 


28.7 


127.5 


44.5 


420. 


117.2 


Average 


82.6 


31.3 


133.6 


48.6 


473.1 


124. 


Lower Q. 


no. 


39. 


161. 


69. 


627. 


148. 


Slowest- 


252. 


76. 


409. 


85. 


2072. 


436.* 



*Witli two failures in addition. 



exists a good correspondence between both the time and errors 
for the star test and the classification made by the institution 
into three groups depending on outlook for reformation : the 
differences are more striking in the first than in the fifth 
tracing. 

TABLE 80 

Scores in the Star Test for Three Groups of Bedford Reformatory Women 

{Weidensall) 





FIRST STAR 


FIFTH STAR 




Time 


Errors 


Time 


Errors 


Most capable and promising__. 

Women with illegitimate chil- 
dren under 2 yrs. of age 

Backward and mentally feeble. 
Unpromising 


320.9 
562.9 
610.5 


117.7 
211.3 
264.4 


105.4 
123.1 
127'.2 


36.0 
45.6 
55.1 





In addition to these quantitative results, the star test has 
proved to possess a value in a perhaps unexpected direction. 



130 [496] ASSOCIATION, leauning and :MioiorvY 

viz.: as a device for sorting out ;S's of the unstable and less 
tractable type. 

On this point Dr. Weidensall writes : "This tost isolates better tlian 
any we liave tried at Bedford tliose wlio are incapable of snstained effort 
under difficulties. It isolated, of course, the low-grade feeble-minded, for, 
no matter how hard they try, they do not succeed in tracing a precise 
star. The epilei)tics have a characteristically bad time and their stars 
are all "knotted up' \Aith 'blind spots' where they weie caught and held 
indefinitely. Chietly, however, is the test of interest in the case of those 
who are bright enough to trace the star well, but too unstable to do so. 
These are invariably the girls who are dillicult to manage in the institu- 
tion. The tracing goes well enough until suddenly the pencil at some hard 
point starts off in the wrong direction. The subject then tugs and pulls, 
grows more and more irritated, disturbed and excited, makes big black 
circles and finally throws down the pencil and gives up. When calmed, 
praised and urged to try again, she will continue and usiially in the end 
draw a fairly good tifth star. This behavior in tracing the star is typical 
of their behavior in the institution when the pressure of discipline or re- 
sponsibility becomes the least bit too exacting." 

(7) Relation of speed and accuraci/. The curves reproduced 
from Starch show that practise produces a reduction in the 
number of corrective movements that parallels fairly closely 
the reduction in time. Correlations between time and errors 
obtained by Miss Weidensall are for the students 0.G3, for the 
maids 0.87, for the reformatory women 0.61. My own work 
with college students has given a correlation of 0.S6, P.E. .01. 

(S) ReUahilitij. Burt and Moore give this coeflicient as 0.52. 
The method used at Texas is evidently superior, since the coeffi- 
cient of relation between the first and second test, as above 
stated, amounts to 0.79, and thus assures satisfactory relia- 
bility. 

(9) Various correlations. Miss Calfee's tests of Texas fresh- 
men included three tests previously used by Burt, viz. : card 
dealing, card sorting and alphabet sorting. Correlations found 
by Burt between mirror-drawing and these three tests when 
applied to school children were 0.10, 0.31 and 0.29, respectively ; 
those found by Miss Calfee for school children were only 0.11, 
0.20 and 0.06, for freshmen men 0.19, 0.11 and 0.22, and for 
freshmen women 0.37, 0.20 and 0.29, respectively. Save, then, 
for the last mentioned correlation, her figures are invariably 
lower than tliose of Burt. Other 'corrected' correlations re 



'I'ES'I' .')0 : AIlltROK-DKAWIXG [497] 13L 

ported by Burt for mirror-drawing (average correlations for 
various groups) are: tapping 0.74, dotting apparatus 0.02, spot- 
pattern test 0.75, immediate memory 0.38, discrimination of 
pitch 0.G6, comparison of line lengths 0.55, esthesiometer 0.38, 
discrimination of lifted Aveights 0.30. 

(10) Qualitative aspects. Efficiency in mirror-drawing may 
result from the actual formation of new visual-motor co-ordi- 
nations (indeed, some aS"s after executing a number of drawings, 
find that, for a short time immediately thereafter, these new 
co-ordinations interfere with normal drawing or writing) ; but 
efficiency may also result, at least in the star test, from the 
voluntary inhibition of visual control in favor of kinesthetic 
control, i. e., by thinking the drawing of a star in motor terms, 
as if working with the eyes shut. Or, the hand-movements may 
be started in this manner and then carried out by visual con- 
trol from the mirror. Finally, adults occasionally control the 
drawing ideational ly, i. e., by applj'ing inferred projjerties of 
reflection by mirrors. 

It is evident that the existence of these qualitative differences 
may affect the test in such a way that the quantitative data for 
different ^"s may 'measure' different mental processes. 

Very slow ^*'s get 'caught' at certain difficult points of the 
drawing, where they make a long series of futile attempts to 
start in the right direction. Here the normal visual-motor 
control is too persistent to be readily broken or ignored. 

Notes. — A further study of the associative connections in- 
volved in mirror-drawing ma}' be made by the use of dot-tapping 
through a prism or of the various forms of mirror-writing.-^ 

For the first test, let *S' shut his left eye, and strike repeatedly 
with his right forefinger at a mark on the Avail or table-top, 



''On mirror-writing, consult Abt, Allen, Downey, Laprade, Locbte, 
Or<lahl, Rowe, Strack, Welter, and AYegener. The most elaborate statis- 
tical study is that of Lochte, who examined 2804 pupils in Berlin, and 
found, for children aged 6-7 years, 1.3.2 per cent, of spontaneous left-baud 
mirror-writing in boys and 2.5.4 per cent, in girls, but for children aged 
1.3-14 years, only 0.7 per cent, in boys and .35 per cent, in girls. The ten- 
dency toward this tyjie of writing appears, therefore, to decrease with 
age, and to be more evident in girls than in boys. 

The most elaborate qualitative analysis of the various 'controls' used in 
writing is that of Miss Downey. 



132 [498] ASSOCIATION, LEARNING AND MEMOtlY 

making about one stroke p^er second, after the manner pre- 
scribed in the test of precision of aiming (]S"o. 11). After this 
rhythmic movement has become well established, and ivltJiout 
inteiTupting it in the least, place suddenly before his eye a 
20 D. prism, with the base toward his nose. The mark is thereby 
apparently displaced some 10 cm. to the left. Connt the num- 
ber of strokes that /S^ makes before he hits the mark again (with 
the prism kept before the eye). Similarly, count the number of 
strokes necessary to hit the mark again when the prism is re- 
moved. 

For the second test, try any or all of the following: 

(1) Close the eyes and write with both hands simultane- 
ously. Cases will then appear, particularly in young children, 
of spontaneous mirror-writing (writing which reads correctly 
when held before a mirror) with the left hand. If this ap- 
pears, see if S can write normally with the left hand when his 
eyes are closed. 

(2) Show ^S* a sample of mirror-writing. Explain its nature. 
Ask him to write in a similar manner, first with his left, then 
with his right hand. 

(3) Write with both hands simultaneously, but with the 
left intentionally in mirror-writing. 

(4) Eead normal writing when seen only as reflected in a 
mirror. 

(5) Write normally while watching the writing in the mir- 
ror, i. e., with hand and paper hidden from direct observation, 
as in the star test. 

REFERENCES 

(1) G. AM, L'ecritm-e en mii'oir. AnPs,S: 1901 (1902), 221-225. 

(2) F. .J. Allen, :MiiTor-writing. Brai)i, 19: 1S9G. 385-7. 

(3) C. Burt, Experimental tests of general intelligence. BrJPs, 3 : De- 
cember, 1909, 91-177, especially 145-9. 

(4) C. Burt, Experimentai tests of higher mental processes and their 
relation to general intelligence. JEPil, 1 : 1911, 93-112. 

(5) C. Burt and R. C. Moore, The mental differences between the 
sexes. JEPd, 1 : 1912. 273-284, 355-388. 

(6) Marguerite Calfee, College freshmen and four general intelligence 
tests. JEilPs, 4: 1913, 223-231. 

(7) W. F. Dearborn, Experiments in learning. JEdP.^, 1 : 1910, 373- 
388. 

(8) June E. Downey, {a) Control processes in modified hand- writ- 



TEST 37: SUBSTITUTION [499] 133 

ing: an experi mental study. PsMon, 9: April, 1908, No. 37. Pp. 158. 
(h) On the reading and writing of mirror-script. PsR, 21: 1914, 408-441. 

(9) V. Henri, lievne generale sur le sens musculaire. AnPs, 5: 1898 
( 1899 ) , 399-513, especially 504-508. ( Also Ueber die Ravunwabrnebmungen 
des Tastsinnes. Berlin, 1898. Pp. 228, especially p. 140. ) 

(10) D. S. Hill (a) Class and practise experiments upon tbe learning 
process. PsB, 8: 1911, 70-71. (6) Minor studies in learning and relearn- 
ing. JEdPs, 5: 1914, 375-3SG. 

(11) C. H. .Judd, Laboratory manual of psycbology. New York, 1907. 

(12) A. Laprade, Contributions a I'etude de I'ecriture en miroir. 1902. 

(13) Locbte, Beitrag zur Kenntnis des Vorkommens u. der Bedeutung 
der Spiegelscbrift. Arch. f. Psychiatrie u. N ervenkrankJieiten, 28 : 1896, 
379-410. 

(14) Louise E. Ordabl, Consciousness in relation to learning. AmJPs, 
22 : 1911, 158-213, especially 193f. 

(15) E. C. Rowe, Voluntary movement. AmJPs, 21: 1910, 513-562, 
especially 537ff. 

(IG) D. Starch, A demonstration of the trial and error method of 
learning. P-^B, 7: January, 1910, 20-23. 

(17) M. Strack, Mirror writing and left-handedness. PdSe, 2: 1893, 
23G-244. 

(IS) G. M. Stratton, The spatial harmony of touch and sight. Mind, 
n. s. 7 : 1899, 492-505. 

(19) H. Weber, Spiegelscbrift u. Lenkscbrift. Zeits. f. IcUn. Med., 27. 

(20) H. Wegener, Die Spiegelscbrift. ZPs, 1 : 1899, 254-269. 

(21) Jean Weidensall, Tbe mentality of the criminal woman. To 
appear in EdPsMon. 

(22) C. S. Yoakum and Marguerite Calfee, An analysis of the mirror- 
drawing experiment. JEdPs, 4 : 1913, 283-292. 

TEST 37 

Substitution. — This test is one of many that may be devised 
to measure the rapidity with which new associations are formed 
by repetition. The name commonl}^ applied to the test arises 
from the process that it involves, in which *S' is called upon to 
substitute for one set of characters (letters, digits, familiar 
geometrical forms, etc.) another set of characters in accordance 
with a plan set before him in a printed key. The procedure 
differs from most memoiw tests or exercises of memorizing in 
that the connections indicated by the key are not committed 
to memory at the outset, but acquired gradually by use as the 
test proceeds. 

The principle embodied in such a test obviously admits of 
numerous variations in detail of application. One form of 
substitution, the replacement of a set of letters by another set 
of letters, was used by Lough (7) in 1902 for a class exercise in 
learning. Another and more elaborate form in which letters 



134 [500] ASSOCIATION. LEARNING AND MEMORY 

distributed like those of a typewriter keyboard are to be asso- 
ciated to numerals is reported by Starch and Dearborn to haye 
been deyised by Jastro^y and nsed seyeral years ago in the Wis- 
consin Uniyersity Laboratory. In recent years seyeral yaria- 
tions, some simpler, some more difficnlt, haye appeared. 

The substitution test seems primarily to have been developed 
as a useful demonstration and class experiment for the study 
of the psychology of learning and of the practise curve (Dear- 
born, vStarch, Lough, Munn, Kline). It has also been used to 
study racial differences (Baldwin, Pyle), to trace the effect of 
dental treatment on general ability (Kohnky), to compare 
delinquent and normal individuals (Baldwin, Weidensall) and 
as one test of the capacity of working children (Woolley and 
Fischer). Incidentally, of course, the relation of learning 
ability to age, sex and school training has been the object of 
investigation. 

Three forms of test material are here presented : the first 
and second, which are modifications of a form devised by W. F. 
Dearborn (3), may be used with adults or older children; the 
third, which has been devised by Mrs. Woolley and used by 
Miss Kohnky and Miss Weidensall as well as Mrs. Woolley, 
is much simpler and better adapted for younger or less capable 
children.^ 

a. standard form for individual procedure ( symbol-digit 

test) 

Materials. — Stop-watch, preferably split-second. Cover- 
board with key. Test strips. 

The cover-boa rcl. about 18 x 36 cm., is so constructed as to furuish a sort 
of 'tuuner through which tlie test-strips may slide as fast as they are writ- 
ten : it also carrit^s a printed key consisting of 9 circles, within each one 
of which is a digit (from 1 to 9) and a symbol (square, asterisk, etc.) 

The test-strips, about 11.5x50 cm., contain forty .5-p!ace series of sym- 
bols like those of the key, together with forty 5-place empty squares. 



^If a test more difficult than any of those described here is desired, 
reference may be had to the form proposed by Gray (4) and used with 
some modification by Baldwin (1). The Maltese Cross test arranged by 
Mrs. Squire, and also tried by Carpenter, proved undesirable, apparently 
in part because it was too easy. Much the same thing may be said of her 
Colored Forms test, which represents still another quite simple variety 
of substitution test. 



TEST 37: SUBSTITUTION ['J^l] l'-^^ 

Method. — Lay the cover-board upon tlie table. Insert a test- 
strip in such a manner that the first (top) line of characters 
conies just below the lower edge of the cover and hence just 
beneath the key. 

Cover the key and do not allow *S* to examine it before the 
test, save as specified below. 

Give S the following explanation : "You Avill find before you 
on the table a card on Avhich there are nine circles. In each 
circle you will find one of the numbers from 1 to 9, and a 
symbol, i. e., a small character or drawing. Then, you will find 
a strip of paper with rows of the same characters, and with 
empty squares beside them. What you are to do is to write 
in these empty squares the numbers that correspond with the 
characters. Keep at work continuously, as fast as you can, 
until you have filled in all the empty squares on the paper. Of 
course, you will have to look back and forth from the paper 
to the circles to find out what number to use, unless you can, 
after a while, remember some of the numbers without looking 
at them." 

With young aS"s, this verbal explanation will be insufficient 
to make the task clear. It will do no harm, in such cases, to 
show *S', for a brief instant, the card of circles and a test-strip 
that has already been filled out. Let him see them just long 
enough to make the instructions clear, but not long enough to 
permit him to learn any of the combinations. 

Start the watch when /? starts the first line : keep the watch 
in view, but out of *S''s sight: record, without stopping the 
watch, the position of the second-hand when S completes every 
5th line (indicated, for this purpose, by a heavier division-line 
in the test-strip) . 

As fast as S finishes a line (or two lines), push the strip 
forward to bring a fresh line of symbols into position at the 
lower edge of the cover. 

When the 40th line is written, conceal the key ; immediately 
turn over the test-strip, write on it the digits 1 to 9, and ask kS 
to place above each digit the character that accompanies it. 
Ascertain, if possible, whether »S' relied upon visual, auditory, 
visual-auditory, or some other type of associative imagery. 



136 [502] ASSOCIATION^ LEARNING AND MEMORY 

Treatment op Data. — Check up the test-strip for errors. 
Compare S's with respect to (1) their time for the whole test, 
(2) their gain in the last, as related to their speed in the first 
5-line section, (3) their accuracy, and (4) their knowledge of 
the symbols (crediting 1 for each symbol correctly reproduced, 
and 1 for each pair of transposed symbols). Plot graphs show- 
ing the variation in speed for the eight sections. 

B. FORM FOR GROUP TESTS;, OR FOR SUPPLEMENTARY INDIVIDUAL 
TESTS (digit-symbol TESt) 

• Materials. — Printed form, at the top of which are shown 9 
circles, as in Form A (save that different symbols are. used), 
and in the body of which is provided, in tAvo columns, a series 
of forty 5-place numbers and forty 5-place blank squares in 
which the appropriate symbols are to be placed. Stop-watch. 

Method. — For individual tests, give instructions similar to 
those for Form A, with such modifications as the altered ar- 
rangement of the material necessitates. Make clear, especially, 
that the second column is to be filled out the moment that the 
first is completed. 

For group tests, supplement the instructions by an adequate 
blackboard explanation, preferably with an illustration so de- 
vised as not to give information concerning the symbols to be 
used. Have the papers distributed, face down, to be turned 
over only at the command to start. Work by the time-limit 
method, allowing 4 luin. for the test. Instruct ;S"s to place an 
oblique mark at the point reached when the command "mark" 
is heard. Give this signal every 30 sec, so that the work is 
divided into 8 periods of 30 sec. each. Conclude with the 
symbol-test as in the individual method. Plot curves for 30 
sec. intervals. 

Variations of Method. — (1) Cut off the top of the form and 
glue the pattern of circles on a sheet of cardboard, as in Form 
A. Cut and paste the two test-columns to form a single long 
column, as in Form A. This will permit check-tests, comparable 
with the standard method, save that here symbols, there digits 
are written. 



TEST 37: SUBSTITUTION [503] 137 

(2) Repeat either Form A or Form B after an interval of 
several hours, days, or weeks, to compare the permanence, in 
different >S^'s, of the associative connections established in a 
single trial. 

(3) Repeat Form A until the associations are firmly estab- 
lished, and the digits can be Avritten rapidly without seeing 
the pattern. Ascertain whether the use of Form B will then 
develop interference of associations. 

(4) Cover up the key in either Form A or Form B Avhen the 
last section (last quarter or last eighth) of the test is reached 
so as to produce a test of >8"s ability to continue the work from 
memory, like that described for Form C. 

C. CINCINNATI SYMBOL-DIGIT TEST 

Mateuials. — Four test sheets of geometrical forms, each con- 
taining ten rows, 5 units per row, of nine different forms. 
Cardboard Avith printed key. Cardboard cover. Stop-watch. 

Method. — Put before S the first test sheet and set the key 
where it can be seen easily. The following are the instructions 
then given bj^ Woolley and Fischer : 

''You see this page of figures [forms]. Now on this card I 
have the same figures, but each figure has a number in it. What 
I want 3'ou to do is to write in each figure on this page the 
number that you see in the same figure on that card. For in- 
stance, what figure would jou put in here? [E points to one 
of the figures which might easily be confused with another 
one — the inverted triangle or the U, and corrects S' if he makes 
a mistake.] And in here [pointing to one of the 'unique' 
figures] ? I want you to begin here at the top of the page and 
fill tlie figures in, in rows, just as you come to them. As you 
finish each row, I will cover it up with this piece of cardboard, 
this way. Now begin, and see how fast you can get the whole 
page done." 

The time is taken from the moment S begins to look on the 
key for his first number to the moment he writes the last one. 
The second test sheet is then given with the instruction : "Now 
fill in this page the same way, and see if you can do it faster 
this time." 



138 [504] ASSOCIATION^ LEARNING AND MEMORY 

The third test sheet follows, with the instruction : "Fill in 
this page and try to do it still faster. When you finish this 
page, I will take the card away, and then I want you to try to 
fill in the last page just from memory." 

S is allowed to correct any errors that he may note before 
the line is covered. The covering is done to insure that each 
line in the first three sheets is done from the key and each line 
in the last sheet from memory, never from the previous records. 

Variation op Method, — If S scores less than 98 per cent, 
accuracy on Sheet 4, it is instructive to give another drill sheet, 
followed by a second test of substitution from memory, and to 
continue alternating sheets filled in with the key and without 
the key until this degree of accuracy is secured. The number 
of extra trials needed forms a useful indication of relative 
learning capacity, especially in the case of rather iucom- 
petent ;S"s. 

Treatment op Data. — For each test sheet, taken separately, 
is figured the time, the accuracy and an index of efficiency com- 
puted from the time and the accuracy. Accuracy is calculated 
by subtracting from 100 per cent. 2 per cent, for each error or 
omission. The index is found by dividing the obtained time 
by the accuracy. In the first three sheets this index may be 
regarded as indicating approximately the time needed to make 
the substitutions Avithout error. In the fourth sheet the index 
is evidenth^ a more arbitrary measure, since an error in sub- 
stituting from memor}^ might not be remedied by any amount 
of extension of the time. 

Speaking generally, the learning capacity of a given S is 
indicated not alone by his performance with the 4th sheet, but 
also by his index for the first three sheets, i. e., while the' 4th 
sheet shows whether the associative connections have been made 
correctly or not, the work with the other sheets shows how 
long a time was used in establishing these connections.- 

Kesults. — (1) Norms for the three substitution tests are now 
available in sufficiently satisfactory form for most purposes. 



"It would seem possible that some measure of learning capacity might 
be calculated from the relation between performance with the 4th and 
with tlie other sheets, though the Cincinnati investigators have contented 
themselves with the treatment quoted. 



TEST 37 : SUBSTITUTION 



[505J 139 



Tables 81 and 82 give results for college students with Form B. 
Tables 83 and 84 give Pyle's results with Form B and Form A, 
respectively, for both sexes and ages from 8 years upward. 
Table 85 gives some of the more important norms compiled 
at Cincinnati for 753 children 14, and 679 children 15 years old 



TABLE 81 

Suhstilution Test, isiiniibcr of Syinlmls Written. Form B. 

(WMjyple) 



Group Method 



THIRTY-SEC. PERIOD 



1st 


2d 


3d 


4 th 


5th 


6th 


7th 


8 th 


TOTAL 


13.7 


16.1 


U.(? 


16.3 


118 


17.2 


16.7 


17.9 


127.3 


13.9 


15.4 


16.0 


17.9 


16.0 


17.0 


16.8 


19,0 


132.0 


10.0 


21.0 


22.0 


18.0 


23.0 


20.0 


25.0 


26.0 


165.0 


11.0 


13.0 


S.O 


10.0 


12.0 


10.0 


11.0 


13.0 


95.0 



SYMBOL 
SCORE 



AA^erage, 12 meD___ 
Axev'dge, 28 women 
Fastest individual 
Slowest individual 



8.2 
9 



TABLE 82 

SuJ)stitution Test. Speed in Seconds. Form B. Individual Method 

{Whipple) 



SECTION OF 5 LINES 


1st 


2d 


3d 


4th 


5 th 


6th 


7th 


8th 


TOTAL 


Average, 13 men 

Average, 5 women 

Total, 18 cases 


54.0 
45.8 
51.8 
42.0 
63.0 


46.0 
41.2 
44.7 
35.0 
58.0 


45.8 
40.6 
44.3 
33.0 
59.0 


44.8 
38.6 
43.1 
30.0 
61.0 


46.1 
43.4 
45.4 
36.0 
62.0 


44.4 
37.6 
42.5 
29.0 
53.0 


47.7 
36.6 
44.6 
31.0 
60.0 


44.3 
35.0 
41.7 
34.0 
65.0 


373.1 

318.8 
358.1 


Fastest individual 

Slowest individual 


270.0 
481.0 



TABLE 83 

Correct Suhstitiitions Made in 60 Sec. Digit-Sijtnhol Test (Fyle). 



SEX 


AGE 


8 


9 


10 


11 


12 


13 


14 


15 


16 


17 


18 


adult 


Male 

Female 


Cases 
Aver. 
A. D. 

Cases 
Aver. 
A. D. 


34 

10.3 

3.5 

37 

13.0 

3.2 


58 

12.6 

4.1 

61 

15.7 

4.1 


50 

15.4 

3.9 

58 

18.8 

4.4 


49 

16.3 

3.6 

49 

18.5 

4.1 


56 

19.1 

5.1 

68 

22.7 

4.9 


62 

22.6 

5.8 

49 

23.4 

5.2 


48 

21.1 

4.5 

46 

26.8 

5.0 


35 

24.7 

4.6 

34 

26.8 
4.7 


31 

24.8 
5.4 

46 

27.5 

5.3 


14 

23.8 
4.3 

38 

28.5 

5.7 


17 

28.7 
3.5 

29 

25.9 

7.0 


67 
29.3 

8.7 

88 

32.2 

4.2 



140 [506] ASSOCIATION^ LEARNING AND MEMORY 

TABLE 84 
Correct Su'bstitutions Made in GO Sec. Symhol-Dicjit Test (Pule). 



SEX 


AGE 


8 


9 


10 


11 


12 


13 


14 


15 


16 


17 


18 


ADULT 




Cases 


37 


72 


76 


62 


75 


78 


59 


45 


38 


20 


17 


56 


Male 


Aver. 


10.0 


13.2 


16.5 


17.7 


19.3 


20.7 


23.3 


25.8 


27.8 


26.1 


28.0 


33.0 




A. D. 


5.3 


5.0 


5.8 


5.4 


5.4 


5.7 


5.4 


5.9 


6.3 


7.4 


5.1 


9.3 




Cases 


41 


82 


82 


63 


89 


66 


62 


44 


55 


43 


29 


89 


Female 


Aver. 


10.9 


16.0 


19.9 


19.6 


23.1 


25.6 


27.4 


29.7 


29.1 


32.0 


33.1 


31.3 




A. D. 


5.3 


5.2 


6.4 


6.3 


6.6 


6.4 


6.1 


6.7 


5.3 


6.3 


4.4 


5.4 



applying for working certificates.^ From data kindly supplied 
me by Mrs. Woolley I have constructed also tlie percentile 
curves, Figs. 67 and 68, for the same groups of children. 

(2) Dependence on age. Pyle's averages, with two excep- 
tions, show that the capacity in the substitution test improves 
every year from 8 to 18, both in boys and in girls. The Cin- 
cinnati children at 15 surpass their 14-year-old records, with 
every page and in both speed and accuracy : the difference is too 
pronounced to be due to the repetition of the test, since differ- 
ent keys were employed in the two trials. 

(3) Dependence on sex. Pyle's averages show that the girls 
make more correct substitutions than the boys at every age 
from 8 to 18, with a single exception (age 18, digit-symbol test) . 
In the three test sheets the Cincinnati girls are slightly superior 
to boys in index, while the sex differences in accuracy are too 
small and inconsistent to be significant, so that speed is the 
important factor in the better index of the girls. With the 
4th (memory) sheet, there is no difference in index at 14, but 
the girls are superior at 15. Girls at 15 also slightly surpass 
boys in accuracy on the 4th sheet. 

(4) Dependence on race. B. T. Baldwin tested 37 white and 
30 negro girls at a Pennsylvania Reform School for 16 prac- 
tise days, 5 min. per day, after eliminating 3 whites and 14 
negroes who failed to attain 50 per cent, accuracy. Table 86 



^Consult Woolley and Fischer for table showing norms of accuracy and 
for numerous graphs of distribution for the substitution index in rela- 
tion to school grade. 



TEST 37 : SUBSTITUTION 



[507] 141 



TABLE 85 

Substitution Index, in Sec, Cincinnati Working Children (Woolley and 

Fischer). 



SHEET 1 



Boys Girls 



Boys Girls 



Boys Girls 



Boys Girls 



[Best 

1 75th Pere.__. 

14 -ISOth Perc.__. 

1 25th Perc. 

[Worst 

[Best 

1 75th Pere.___ 

15 ^50th Perc. 

1 25th Perc— 
[Worst 



71.0 
147.0 
172.7 
200.9 
400.0 

82.2 
137.3 
157.3 
179.0 
286.6 



83.3 
142.0 
162.6 
185.6 
419.5 

98.4 
130.4 
148.6 
171.6 
307.8 



68.5 
115.7 
133.2 
157.6 
378.0 

55.0 
104.6 
123.7 
145.7 
241.3 



68.0 
108.7 
130.4 
154.0 
298.4 

67.4 
103.6 
119.0 
138.1 
295.1 



59.4 

97.4 

115.9 

138.4 

276.4 

54.0 

92.0 

110.7 

133.4 

355.5 



.59.8 

94.0 

112.7 

134.8 

242.9 

59.2 
91.9 

108.7 

128.7 
248.6 



53.0 

89.6 

111.2 

148.3 

1,257.6 

52.6 

84.4 

104.9 

145.7 
906.5 



52.3 

88.5 

112.6 

150.5 

525.4'* 

50.6 

85.3 

103.9 

139.3 

19,875.0 



*To which should be added one case of complete failure — accuracy only 
6 per cent, and index 00,000. In comparing this table with the original 
text it should be noted that I have reversed the designations of the per- 
centiles, so that 100 per cent, here would represent the quickest perform- 
ance (smallest index). 

shows clearly the superiority of the whites. In general, the 
negroes make only 62.4 per cent, as many substitutions and 
245.3 per cent, as many errors as the whites. The fact that tlie 

TABLE 8G 

Average Numher of Suhstitutions Made hy 31 White and 30 Negro Girls 
in a Pennsylvania Reformatory (Baldivin) 



TRIAL 


1 


2 


3 


4 


5 


6 


7 


8 


9 


Whites 


23.8 
22.6 


42.6 
27.6 


46.7 
31.2 


54.2 
35.8 


61.7 
46.9 


64.9 
48.0 


67.8 
53.9 


78.3 
57.7 


79 6 


Negroes 


61.5 



TRIAL 


10 


11 


12 


13 


14 


15 


16 


AVER. 


Whites 


86.9 
64.7 


85.9 
76.6 


89.5 
71.6 


94.1 
76.0 


93.7 

78.1 


100.1 
72.3 


116.5 
89.0 


72 3 


Negroes ^ 


55.8 



142 [508] ASSOCIATION, learning and memory 

average age of the Avliites is somewhat greater (16.7 vs. 15.1 
years) by no means accounts for these differences. Baldwin 
notes that there are also distinct qualitative differences in the 
w^ork of the two races : negro girls are slower to warm up to the 
task, and first to drop back and lose interest : they cannot be 
forced or stimulated easily, except temj)orarily through flat- 
tery : their work is more irregular, more subject to moods, less 
accurate and less neat. ''They are partially occupied with the 
task in hand and partially with a random activity, w^hich con- 
sists in mumbling, grumbling, humming or saying original and 
funny things. This second attitude seems a common trait with 
the race unless consciously inhibited." * 

(5) Dependence on practise, (a) Practise-effects within the 
single trial of the substitution test are revealed, of course, by 
comparison of the rate and accuracy of the work In the different 
sections or sheets into which the material is divided. With 
Form A or Form B the increase in speed in the 8th as over 
the 1st section amounts to some 10 to 20 per cent. This im- 
provement is not acquired uniformly, however, from section to 
section. On the contrary, as Tables 81 and 82 show, there is 
a tendency toward a decrease of efficiency at about the middle 
of the work. Thus, in the individual tests both men and 
women, taken collectively, show a reduction of speed in the 5th 
section : similarly, in the group tests both men and women 
write fewer symbols in the 5th than in the 4th 30-sec. period. 

In the indh'idual tests, the 4th section comes at the bottom of the Srst 
column, the 5th at the top of the second column. The brief delay occa- 
sioned by the necessary readjustment (of paper, pencil, attention, etc.) 
may explain a part, but only a part of the reduction in time. 

A plausible explanation is that reported by one S, who noted thai, in 
Section 4. being so far from the circles, she relied upon her memory, 
whereas in Section 5, the very proximity of the circles tempted her to 
glance at them to make sure of her work, and thus to work more slowly.^ 



*Since the above was written, Pyle (9a) has published the results of 
an investigation in the public schools of Missouri which discloses a 
similar inferiority of negroes to whites in the substitution test. Speak- 
ing in general terms, the negroes are less than half as efficient as the 
whites in the test. 

^Form A has been devised especially to avoid the variation in distance 
of test-blanks from the pattern at different periods of the work. 



TEST 37 : SUBSTITUTION 



[509] 143 



To test this liyi)otliesis, trials were made witb 10 college students, uslug 
material of Form B, but rearranged (as suggested above) to resemble 
Form A (the test-blank in one long colunui sliding beneath the cardboard). 
The average scores, in sec, per 5-line section, were 55.7, 4S.0, 44.0, 40.9, 
JfS.O, 40.3, 41.5, and 40.8, for the Sections 1 to 8, respectively. (Total time, 
354.8 sec; symbol score, 8.2). There is, then, still a loss of more than 2 
sec. at Section 5. 

It would appear, therefore, either that the test-material of Section 5 
happens to be more ditiicult than that of Sections 4 and G, or that, as a 
final possibility, the slower rate in Section 5 is merely an expression of a 
mental condition — fatigue, weariness, loss of initial enthusiasm. That 
this explanation may be entertained is shown in Table 87, where it will be 
seen that, although more *S"s lose speed in the 5th than in any other sec- 
tion, there are, nevertheless, numerous instances of loss of speed in otiier 
portions of the work, especially in Section 7. The >S"s of Table 87 are the 
10 just mentioned, and the 18 of Table 82. 



TABLE 87 

Substitution Test. Distribution of Gains and Losses in Speed (Whipple) 



SECTIONS 



1-2 


2-3 


3-4 


4-5 


5-6 


6-7 


24 


17 


16 


9 


19 


12 


4 


7 


8 


16 


8 


15 





4 


4 


3 


1 


1 



Number gaining speed 

Number losing speed 

Number maintaining speed 



16 



(&) Special investigations upon practise in this test have 
been made by Starch, Lough, Kline and Miss Munn. Starch's 
vsi'ork, which is confirmed by Miss Munn's, shows that relatively 
short, distributed practise periods are the most effective (Fig. 
G9) ; from 10 to 20 min. seems to be best, at least for adults. 
Lough found no evidence of plateaus in the curve of improve- 
ment in tests lasting from 20 to 90 days. Miss Munn found the 
typical curve of improvement to be rapid in rise at first, then 
slower. Children were slower at the start, but gained more, 
absolutely, than did adults. Curves from two aged ;S"s were 
similar to those obtained from the young. Eetrials showed 
that fairly strong practise-effects persisted for at least as long 
as 5 mos. 

Kline tested the effect of practise in one form of substitution 
upon performance in other forms of substitution and found that 
''practise in writing digits for letters is transferred with favor- 
able effect to subsequent work in writing symbols for digits, 
but is transferred with unfavorable effect to subsequent work 



144 [510] ASSOCIATION^ LEARNING AND MEMORY 



1 

60 


O 2 


\o 3 


iO 40 50 60 70 80 9( 


70 


















80 


















90 


















/ On 


















1 10 


















l^o 


















130 
















<^ 


)40 












^^^ 


^y 


^ 


I50 










■y^ 


/<^ 


<y 


y 


160 






^ 


^^" 

^ 


^$^ 




^ 




\7Q 






^^ 


.--^ 










180 


/ 


/"^ 


^^ 


^ 










/90 




^X 


y 


y 










200 


/// 




y 












2IO 


7 ^ 


/ 














220 


^// 
















230 


/ 
















240 



















FIG. G7. PEKCENTILES FOK THE SUBSTITUTION INDEX FOE CINCINNATI WORK- 
ING CHILDREN 14 AND 15 YEARS OLD SHEET 1 

(After Woolley and Fischer) 



TEST 37: SUBSTITUTION 

zo -30 Ao 50 eo 70 



[511] 145 
80 QO 




FIG. (j8. percentiles for the SaBSTITUTION INDEX FOE CINCINNATI WORK- 
ING CHILDREN 14 AND 15 TEARS OLD SHEET 4 (After 

Woolley aud Fischer) 



140 [512] ASSOCIATION, LEARNING AND MEMORY 




FIG. 69. KFFECT OF PEACTISE PERIODS OF DIFFEEENT LENGTHS UPON PERFORM- 
ANCE IN THE SUBSTITUTION TEST (Fl'Om Starcll) 

Results based on the work of 42 college students. [Jnits on the base- 
line represent number of successive 5-niin. periods : ordinates represent 
number of substitutions made in 5 min. Designations attached to each 
curve indicate the length of the work periods of each group. 

in writing digits for symbols." Moreover, the more the drill 
work is spread out in time, the greater, on the whole, is this 
interference effect. Here the interference is due, of course, to 
the fact that in the second test-series the same characters must 
be written as in the drill series, but with different associative 
connections. 

(6) Dependence on intelligence. If we admit that the school 
grade reached by children 14 or 15 years old affords a good in- 
dication of their general intelligence, it follows that the sub- 
stitution test correlates well with general intelligence, since 
there was found at Cincinnati a "positive correlation with 
school grade for all four pages of the test, for both sexes, and 
at both ages" (15, p. 153). This correlation is less evident with 



TKST 3(: SI'P.STITDTIOX' 



[513] U7 



Ihe 4:th (lueiiioryj slieel, wlicrc iiidividmil diffeTeiiccs arc most 
manifest. It follows that children who have reached higher 
school grades exhibit a somewhat higher performance in the 
memory test after having spent a decidedly shorter time in the 
process of learning. The above results jjertain to the substi- 
tution index (Form C) : as to accuracy, that is also positively 
correlated with school gi-ade, though not so markedly nor so 
consistently as the index. Similarly, Woolley and Fischer 
report that some of the >S"s sent to them under suspicion of 
mental deficiency were able to attain fair success with the 4th 
sheet, but "required a far longer time, often more than twice 
the time, to reach the result" (p. 244). 

The author has compared 6 dull and 5 bright grammar-school 
boys and obtained the results shown in Table 88. Since, with 
a single exception, all the dull boys are older than the bright 
boj's — on the average about 3 years older — -the actual difference 
in capacity between the two groups that is ascribable to intelli- 
gence is much greater than appears from the averages obtained. 



Suhstitiition Test. 



TABLE 88 

Bright and DuU Boys. 
(Whipple) 



Form B. Individual Method 









SCHOOL 




SYMBOL 








GRADE 




SCORE 




H. 


16:9 


7, II 


700 


6 




K. 


13:1 


5, II 


742 


8 


Dull 


N. 


14:9 


6, I 


422 


9 


Group 


M. 


12:8 


6, I 


975 


1 




B. 


12:6 


7, II 


707 


4 




S. 


15:2 


6, I 


660 


9 



Average 



14:2 



701 



6.17 





Br. 


11:11 


8, I 


677 


9 




Hu. 


12:8 


6, II 


597 


5 


Bright 


Id. 


10:9 


6, II 


566 


9 


Group 


Tr. 


10:4 


6, II 


648 


4 




Fe. 


10:8 


6, II 


591 


9 


Average 


11:1 




615:8 


7.2 



148 [514] ASSOCIATION, LEARNING AND MEMORY 

(7) Dependence on physical condition. Miss Kohnky used 
the Cincinnati substitution test among other tests with pupils 
of two 5th grade classes in that city in her study of the effects 
of dental treatment upon physical and mental efficiency. The 
test was given in October to pupils in Room 18 and Room 21, 
two comparable groups. The pupils in Room 21 were then 
given elaborate dental treatment, those in Room 18 were 
given none. Both groups were retested in the following May. 
The score for the untreated room was 201.6 for the 1st sheet in 
October and 110.5 for the 4th sheet in May, a total gain of 
91.1 : the score for the treated room was 206.G for the 1st sheet 
in October and 104.9 for the 4th sheet in May, a gain of 101.6, 
from which it is argued that the pupils subject to dental treat- 
ment developed greater 'learning power.' 

(8) Delinquents. Miss Weidensall tested 88 Bedford Re- 
formatory women and also a group of Vassar College dormitory 
maids with the material of Form 0. She found that the various 
reformatory groups differed more from one another in speed 
than in accuracy, that both the college maids and the reforma- 
tory women differed from the Cincinnati working girls more 
widely on Sheet 1 and Sheet 4 than on Sheets 2 and 3, from 
which it may.be inferred that the working girls make a quicker 
adjustment to the task and reach a higher accomplishment in 
distinctly less time. The work with the first and fourth pages 
divided the reformatory women into two distinct groups which 
correspond with, and confirm the school's estimate of their 
intelligence : thus, when the women are divided into two groups, 
55 per cent, of the below-grade (schooling less than Grade 5B) 
are as poor in index of substitution for Sheet 4 as the poorest 
quarter of the grade group. Again, when the women are divided 
into smaller groups on the basis of j^ears of schooling, there ap- 
pears a positive correlation with amount of schooling that is 
as close as that found at Cincinnati. Reformatory women that 
had reached the 8th grade in schools were better than 15-year- 
old Cincinnati working girls in both accuracy and time on Sheet 
4, but elsewhere the reformatory^ women were quite generally 
inferior to the working girls, and the inferiority becomes in- 
creasingly great as the grade at which the reformatory women 



TEST 37 : SUBSTITUTION 



[515] 149 



left school becomes lower. A general idea of the inferiority 
is given by Table 89. Finally, the correspondence between the 
results of the test and general ability is further indicated by 
a correlation of 0,48, P.E. .06, between rank on Sheet 4 and 
native ability as estimated by the principal of the Reformatory 
Industrial School. 

TABLE 89 

Differences^, in Sec, Index of Substitntion, Form C, 'between Bedford Hills 

Reformatory Women and Cincinnati WorJcviig Girls l-i 

and 15 Years Old (After Weidensall) 





SHEET 1 


SHEET 4 


PERCENTILE 


25th 


50th 


75th 


25th 


50th 


75th 


14 Years _ _ _ 


-59.4 
-73.4 


-10.5 

-24.5 


+6.0 

-6.5 


-184.5 
-195.7 


-44.9 


- 8.1 


15 Years 


-53.6 -11-3 









Plus sign indicates that the Bedford group is faster, minus sign slower 
than the Cincinnati group with which it is compared. The order of per- 
centiles is here reversed from that used in the original tables: here" the 
75th is better than the 50th percentile. 



Note. — *S^'s who make the fastest records commonly employ 
the scheme of holding in mind the entire 5-place number (in 
Form B), and writing down the symbols while keeping the eyes 
directed upon the circles. The material in Form A lends itself 
less easily to this scheme. 

REFERENCES 

(1) B. T. Baldwin. The learning of delinquent adolescent girls as 
shown by a substitution test. JEdPs. 4 : 1913. 317-3.32. 

(2) D. F. Carpenter, Mental age tests. JEdl's, 4: 1913, 5-38-544. 
W. F. Dearborn, Experiments in learning. JEdPs, 1 : 1910, 373- 



C. T. Gray, A new form of the substitution test. JEdPs, 4 : 1D1.3, 



(3) 
388. 

(4) 
293-297. 

(5) L. W. Kline. Some experimental evidence in regard to formal dis- 
cipline. JEdPs. 5 : 1914, 2.59-266. 

(6) Emma Kohnky, Preliminary study of the effect of a dental treat- 
ment upon the physical and mental efficiency of school children. JEdPs, 
4 : 1913, 569-578. 

(7) J. E. Lough, Plateaus in simple learning. PsBu, 9 : 1912, 87-88. 

(8) Abbie F. INIunn. The curve of learning. ArPs{e), 2 : 1909, 36-52. 

(9) W. H. Pyle. The examination of school children. New York, 1913. 
Pp. 70, especially 18-22. 



150 [516] ASSOCIATION^ LEARNING AND MEMORY 

(9a) W. H. Pyle, TJie mind of the negro child. School and Society, 
1 : 1915, 357-360. 

(10) Carrie R. Squire, Graded mental tests. JEdPs, 3: 1912, 363-380, 
430-443, 493-506, especially 432-4. 

(11) D. Starch, Periods of work in learning. JEdPs, 3 : 1912, 209-213. 

(12) D. Starch, Experiments in educational psychology. New York, 
1911. Pp. 183, especially ch. 7. 

(13) Jean Weidensall, The mentality of the criminal woman. To ap- 
pear in EdPsMon. 

(14) R. S. Woodworth and F. L. Wells, Association tests. PsMon, 13: 
1911 (No. 57). Pp. 75, especially 53-55. 

(15) Helen T. Woolley and Charlotte R. Fischer, Mental and physical 
measurements of working children (Studies from the laboratory of the 
Vocation Bureau. Cincinnati, Ohio). PsMon, 18: 1914 (No. 77). Pp. 247, 
especially 148-184. 

TEST 38 

Memory for serial impressions: 'Rote' memory.^ — The essen- 
tial idea in the several forms of memorj' test treated under this 
title is to present a series of discrete impressions {e. g., letters, 
digits, words), which is, if possible, to be reproduced in correct 
order and exactly as presented. These tests are to be con- 
trasted with the so-called tests of 'logical' memory, in which the 
material presented is a logically connected whole, and in which 
the requirement is to reproduce the substance, or the meaning, 
of what has been presented. In either test, the rei)roduction 
maj be immediate or delayed, and the mode of presentation 
and method of measuring efficiency may be varied in many ways. 

Memory for a series of discrete impressions has been used to 
study individual differences, as conditioned by sex, age, mental 
ability ; to detect fatigue ; to investigate the nature of practise, 
the ijossibility of training retention and recall, the most eco- 
nomical methods of learning, etc. 

To understand the results and conclusions of the small army 
of investigators of memory, it is convenient to classify the 
methods and the materials that have been most commonly, 
used.- 



'The author desires to acknowledge the assistance of Dr. L. R. Geissler 
in the collation and sifting of the literature bearing upon this test. 

-For more extended discussion of the historical development of the sev- 
eral experimental methods, together with accounts of the results that have 
been attained, the readei* should consult Bentley, Binet (9), Burnham, 
Ebbinghaus, Gamble, Henri, OfCner and Pohlmann. The last-named gives 
a particularly valuable summary of the methods. 



TEST 38: MEMORY FOR SERIAL IMPRESSIONS [517] 151 

CLASSIFICATION OF METHODS FOR MEMORY TESTS 

(1) The metliod of complete memorization, or method of complete mas- 
tery (Eiiernunosiuethode), developed in the classic work of Ebbiughaus 
{Ueber das Gedachtnis) in 1S85, and refined by Mliller and Schumann, 
demands that 8 repeat the series of impressions again and again until he 
can reproduce it without error, without hesitation, and with certainty of 
correctness. Eiflciency is measured by the number of presentations re- 
quired for this complete learning. 

In practise, this method is frequently supplemented by testing the 
number of presentations of the same series that is needed to relearn it at 
any assigned time after the first learning {Ersparnisverfahren or Erspar- 
ii'ismetJiode), in wliich case the saving in number of repetitions in the re- 
learning, as compared with the learning, measures the amount of reten- 
tion, or the degree to which the first impression has persisted. 

(2) The memory-span method {Methode der Geddchtnis-8 panne), 
first devised by Jacobs, elaborated by Eb'ert and Meumann, and extensively 
used in England and America, consists in the determination of the maxi- 
mal length of a series of impressions that can be reproduced with a given 
degree of accuracy (usually complete accuracy) after a given number of 
presentations (usually, though not necessarily, one presentation). Ordi- 
narily, E begins with a series that is easily within ^S's limit, and increases 
the length of the series, keeping other- factors constant, until errors 
appear. /j? 

(3) The method of retained met^bers (Methode der dehaltenen 
Gliedcr), tirst so designated by Ebbinfiiaus, but more carefully studied 
by Pohlmann, consists in the determination of the degree of mastery (pi'o- 
portion of elements correctly reproduc^l) of a series of a given length, 
after a given number of repetitions. The method is somewhat like the 
span method, Ijut the length of the series is so chosen that S cannot attain 
complete mastery. In practise, many span tests actually become tests of 
degree of mastery. 

(4) The method of right associates (Treffermethode), proposed by 
Jost and developed by Miiller and Pilzecker, consists in presenting a 
series of impressions (typically, nonsense syllables in trochaic rhythm), 
and of subsequently testing S"s ability to name the member that follows 
any given member. Usually the accented member is gi^en, and -8' tries to 
designate the 'right associate" for it. (When his time of response is meas- 
ured, the method is known, in full, as the Treffer- und Zeitmethode) . Its 
special value is to afford opportunity for analyzing the nature of the asso- 
ciative connections ; it has not been proposed as a test of efficiency. 

(5) The method of prompting {Methode der Hilfen), somewhat simi- 
larly, tests the nature and strength of the individual associative connec- 
tions in the series, and is of questionable usefulness for practical testing. 
As illustrated in the work of Ephrussi, the method consists in an attempt 
by S to reproduce the series before it has been fully learned, and in 
promptings by E at each point of hesitation or error. Efficiency is in- 
versely related to the number of promptings required. 

(6) The method of interference of associations is exemplified in Berg- 
strom's study of card-sorting (5). Here 80 cards are sorted by E into 10 
piles, and subsequently, at a given interval, into another 10 piles differ- 
ently arranged. The second sorting is slower because of the persistence 
of associative connections developed in the first trial. Analogous tests can 
be fashioned with other forms of material, as has been suggested in the 
Substitution Test. 



152 [518] ASSOCIATION, LEARNING AND ME:M0RY 

(7) The method of rccoiistmdion, used by Miinsterberg and Bigham 
with colors, and by Miss Gamble with odors, consists in presenting a 
series of stimuli in a detinite order, and then, after a predetermined in- 
terval, in presenting the same stimuli in chance order. 8 attempts to re- 
arrange them in the original order. 

(8) The method of recognition consists in the presentation of a lim- 
ited mniiber of impressions, which are subsequently presented again, in 
conjunction with other stimuli, to see how many of the first series ;t> can 
recognize in the second series. Examples will be found in the worl: of 
Smith and of Henri. 

(9) The method of idenlieal series, as employed by Reuther is a modi- 
fication of the method of recognition, in which the original series is always 
actually presented intact, though, of course, this fact is concealed from S. 

(10) The method of continuous lists (Methode des fortlaufenden 
Niedersclireihens oder Aufzdhlens), employed by Krsepelin, is identical 
with the procedure described in Test 33, though sometimes S is required 
to write words that belong to specified categories. 

(,11) The method of chance verhal reactions {Methode der zufdUigcn 
Worireactionen), well illustrated by the investigations of Aschaffenburg 
and G. PI Miilier, is the stock association experiment, with emphasis upon 
the qualitative as well as the quantitative study of the associative se- 
quences. (See Test 33A.) 

(12) The method of description or report (Aussage) is a form of 
memory investigation with peculiar problems of its own, as has been 
shown in Test 32. In it, the terms in which the reproduction takes place 
are not restricted to a direct equivalence with the material presented, but 
are merely indicative or descriptive of this material. 

The tests which follow are primarily intended to test capacity 
for immediate reproduction after a single presentation, either 
by the memory-span method or by the method of retained mem- 
bers (degree of mastery). The capacity which is tested corre- 
sponds to what the Germans call MerkfdhigJceit — a term which 
is perhaps best rendered in English as immediate memory. 
Tests of capacity to recall or to recognize after an interval 
of greater or less duration w^ould doubtless more nearly meas- 
ure memory in the more exact sense of that term, but, unfortu- 
nately, little attention has been paid to this phase of mental 
testing, owing presumably to the desire to complete observa- 
tions in a single sitting. 



CLASSIFICATION OF MATERIAL FOR MEMORY TESTS 

The material used in tests of serial memory may be classed 
according to the sense-department to which it is presented 
(visual, auditory, visual-auditory, etc.), and according to its 



TEST 38 : MEMORY FOR SERIAL IMPRESSIONS [510] 153 

nature or form. Again, visual material of different forms may 
be presented either simultaneously or successively. 

(1) Actual objccta were used by Netschajeff, Lobsien and Kirkpa trick. 
Thus, Lobsien showed 9 objects at the rate of 1 per sec, e. g., newspaper, 
key, handkerchief, glass, slate, box, book, glove, chalk. Netschajeff us^ed 
12, Kirkpatrick 10 objects. 

(2) Pictures of ohjects. 10 in number, were used by Miss Calkins; 
groups of 20 pictures by Mrs. Squire and by Carpenter, following the sug- 
gestion of the earlier Binet-Simon tests. 

(3) Sentences also form a portion of the Binet-Simon tests, and have 
been tried by Kitter, Miss Sharp, Mrs. Squire, Carpenter and Abelson. 
Directions for their use will be found below. 

(4) Words may be used in the most varied kinds of series. Thus, 
series of Latin-German, or English-German, or other pairs of nouns, have 
been used to produce a 'vocabulary' form of test, as by Wessely. A dis- 
tinction may be made between 'related' or 'associable' terms and 'unre- 
lated' or 'dissociable' terms (Norsworthy: Bergstrom, 6). For example, 
paper, writing, compose, etc., vs. horse, hricks, soldier, acorns, etc. Meu- 
mann (51), Burt (16) and Pyle have compared the span (3 to 8-term 
series) for concrete nouns, e. g., stove, ink, lamp, street, etc., with the 
span for abstract noiuis. e. g.. influence, etc. Netschajeff and Lobsien 
tested the relative reproducibility of words (12 and 9-term series) that 
connoted visual, auditory, tactual and emotional ideas, respectively. (Ex- 
amples : lightning, dial, sunheam; thvnder, crash, ivhistle; cold, soft, 
smooth ; hope, doiiht, regret.) Kirkpatrick and Calkins also used 10-torm 
series of words that related to objects, as. did Pohlmann. Hawkins com- 
pared simultaneous and successive exposure of 1.5 nouns. Binet, Ritter, 
Simpson, Abelson, Lapie and Sharp also employed lists of words of vai-ied 
length and complexity. 

(.5) Nonsense syllables were tried but discarded by .Jacobs, likewise 
by Cohn and Dieffenbacher. They formed, however, the stock material 
in Ebbinghaus' pioneer work, and were subsequently made more service- 
able by the ])recise rules that Miiller and Schumann formulated for their 
construction. Bergstrom, Burt, Smith, jMiiller and Pilzecker, Pohlmann, 
van Biervliet, and others have found them of value: indeed, Pohlmann 
contends that, on account of their equivalence one to another and tlieir 
relative freedom from varying associations in different »S"s. nonsense sylla- 
bles form the best and most reliable material for memory tests. Series 
specially adapted for English readers will be found in Test'2.5. 

(6) Letters (usually consonants only, to avoid the formation of sylla- 
bles or words) have been used by Jacobs, Binet (8), Cohn, Pohlmann, 
Sharp, Finzi, Smith (71, 73), and Winch (80). An idea of the great 
variety of procedure that may be developed with a single form of matei-ial 
may be gained by noting that Binet used 15 consonants exposed visually 
and simultaneously, for 20 sec. ; Cohn exposed 12 consonants arranged in 
the form of a square for 25 sec. ; Pohlmann read 10 consonants to his »S"s 
3 times over ; Sharp exposed 12 letters successively with the Jastrow 
drop-apparatus, at the rate of 1 per sec. and repeated until the series was 
learned : Smith exposed 12 consonants simultaneously for 10 sec, and read 
other series of -1, 5. 6, 7, and 9-term consonants ; Winch repeated 12 conso- 
nants auditorily in 25 sec, and also used the letter-square method (de- 
scribed below), as did Wyatt and Anderson. 



154 [520] ASSOCIATION^ LEARNING AND MEMORY 

(7) Two-place nunibers, administered orally, were used by Schuyten 
(S numbers repeated by *S"s in concert), Lobsien (-9 numbers), Pohlmaun 
(10 numbers given three times), and Netschajeff (12 numbers). 

(S) Digits,^ i. e., one-place numbers, have been employed by Jacobs, 
Johnson, Bolton, Binet, E1:)binghaus, Hawkins, Ritter, Chambers, Kohnky, 
Lapie, Sharp, Smedley, Krueger and Spearman, Wissler, and many others, 
in the most varied manner (4 to 10-place series, given auditorily, visually 
— either simultaneously or successively — or in combined appeal to vision 
and audition, to vision, audition and 'hand' memory, or to vision, audition, 
and 'articulatory' memory). Abelson appears to be the only investigator 
to have discarded digits as inappropriate for mental tests. 

(9) Geometrical drawrngs have been used by Milnsterberg and Big- 
hain, and by Bernstein and Bogdanoff, who selected forms that would be 
unfamiliar to their <S''s. 

(10) Lines of varied lengths have been employed by Toulouse and by 
Binet (9). 

(11) Miscellaneous visual characters, symbols, combinations of dots, 
lines, etc.. formed a portion of the material in the investigation of Ebert 
and INIeumanu. 

(12) Sounds, such as those produced by tearing paper, whistling, 
stamping, ringing a bell, etc., were arranged in 9-element series by Lob- 
sien, and in 12-element series by Netschajeff. 

(13) Alcmori/ for commissions forms a well-known part of the Binet- 
Simon tests. An extension of this idea into a sort of memory-span test 
of mojiiory for commissions has been used by Abelson in the study of back- 
ward children. 

i 

Aside from these wide differences in general method and in form of ma- 
terial, attention should be called to differences in rate or tempo at which 
the series is first presented, to differences in the number of times the series 
is presented, and to differences in the time-interval elapsing between 
presentation and reproduction. 

As a rule, the rate of presentation has been not slower than 1 impres- 
sion in 2 sec, and not faster than 2 impressions in 1 sec. A rate of 1 im- 
pression in 0.75 sec. has been found well adapted for adults. 

The typical span test is one in which the series is presented but once : 
from the point of view of functional testing, therefore, the repetition of 
the stimulus series may be regarded as a variant method, not to be intro- 
duced save for the special purpose of studying its effect. 

Similarly, as has already been said, the greater portion of the tests liere 
reported have been made with no interval between presentation and repro- 
duction. It is to be noted, however, that Smedley, in his tests of Chicago 
school children, separated presentation and reproduction by an interval 
of 5 sec. Wyatt caused his »S'"s to count backward from 20 before writing 



"Reuther has formulated rules for the construction of test-series of 
digits, analogous to the rules of Miiller and Schumann for test-series of 
nonsense syllables. The following are the most important of Reuther's 
principles: (1) Do not repeat a digit in the same series (impossible to 
avoid, of course, in lO-place series). (2) Do not begin a series with the 
number 1. (3) Avoid the use of zero. (4) Do not place any two digits 
in their natural relations with one another. (.5) Do not use sequences 
that suggest historical dates, ((i) Do not use in immediate succession 
two series that have the same digit in the same place at any point in Ihe 
yeries. 



TEST 38 : MEAIOUV FOU SEIUAL IMPKESSIONS [521] 155 

nonsense syllables and introduced an interval of 5 sec. in his tests with 
letter-squares. Kirkpatrick, and Calkins in her repetition of his tests, 
secured a reproduction both immediately after, and 3 days after the pre- 
sentation, in order to contrast 'immediate' with 'delayed' memory or recall. 
Somewhat similarly, Binet, and Sharp in her repetition of his tests, se- 
cured a reproduction of each of seven 7-place word-lists directly after its 
presentation, and a 'recapitulation,' in so far as It was possible, of the 49 
terms at the close of the whole test, i. e., about 3 min. after the first presen- 
tation. Binet contrasts, in this way, immediate memory with what he 
terms 'memory of conservation.' 

Since, as the results that follow show, even minor variations in the con- 
duct of a memory test affect its outcome, it follows that the results of dif- 
ferent investigators may not be expected to exliibit complete accordance 
with respect to the relative influence of sex, age, mental ability, etc. 

Five chief forms of test have been selected and are recom- 
mended as standard for this field of investigation ; variant 
methods are suggested in each case. By reference to the classi- 
fication of methods and materials just given, E can devise fur- 
ther modifications to suit special requirements. These five 
forms are (1) tests with digits, resembling in scope Smed- 
ley's Chicago tests, but with several differences in procedure, 
(2) tests with letters, after Cohn's method, (3) tests with lists 
of w^ords, after the methods of Meumann and of Burt, (4) tests 
with sentences of graded difficulty, and (5) tests Avith pictures 
of objects. 

A. MEMORY SPAN FOR DIGITS 

Materials. — Printed test-cards, 42 in number, arranged in 
three sets of 14 cards each, for presentation by 3 different 
methods. (Each set contains 2 cards each of 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 0, 
and 10 digits.) Metronome. [For serial visual exposure, in 
addition, Jastro^v's memory apparatus (Fig. TO). Cardboard. 
Willson's gummed figures, black. Size 5. For letter tests, full 
sets of gummed letters, Sizes 5 and 10.] 

Preliminaries. — On the back of each card write the digits 
that are printed on its face : this enables E, when the test de- 
mands it, to pronounce the test numbers while displaying the 
card to ^S^. The purely auditory and the auditory-visual-hand- 
motor series are not included in the printed cards, but should 
be prepared by E, preferably, for convenience, on a single piece 
of cardboard, the size of the printed cards. For the auditory 
series, use the folloAving numbers, in the order given: G135, 



156 [522] ASSOCIATION^ LEARNING AND MEMORY 

2947, 36814, 57296, 241637, 935816, 8537142, .9412837, 47293815, 
71836245, 924738615, 475296318, 8697132504, 2146073859. For 
the visual-auditor^'-haiid-motor series, use these numbers, re- 
versed, G. g., 5316, etc. 

Method. — If only a single test can be made, employ the 
visual-auditorj^-articulatory form of presentation, since this is 
most likely to produce uniform conditions of ideational imagery 
for all /S^s. But if the. tests can be taken in full, follow the 
order of presentation outlined herewith.^ In any event, preface 
each form of presentation with a special, short sample-series, 
without demanding reproduction, in order that /S* may be per- 
fectly clear as to the nature of the test. Within each form of 
test, also, preface each presentation with a statement of the 
number of members in the coming series, e. g.: "This will be a 
series of 5 digits." The metronome should be set at 60, %. e., 
one stroke per sec, for all tests.^ 

(1) Auditory 'presentation. Explain the test hj a simple 
illustrative series. Require *S' to close his lips firmly, and to 
press his tongTie against the roof of his mouth — this to reduce 
the tendency to articulation, and in group tests (all of the 
memorj' tests lend themselves well to group presentation) to 
avert communication between /S"s. Start the metronome.'^ Pro- 
nounce the digits, one at a time, with the utmost care to ensure 



^It goes without explanation tliat the longer series may be omitted with 
very young, the shorter with mature »S''s. Use, for the shortest series, one 
that is easily within the span of the poorest -S to be tested, for the longest 
series, one that is too ditticnlt for the best fi' to reproduce without error. 

^It may be well at this place to point out the differences between this 
procedure and that followed by Smedley at Chicago. Smedley used no 
series longer than 8. He gave no warning of the length of the coming 
series. He set the metronome at 90. He did not present the several series 
in regular order, but irregularly, though beginning with an easy series. 
He inserted an interval of 5 sec. between presentation and reproduction. 
He distributed his tests, seven in all, at hourly intervals. Finally, he 
gives no clear statement of his method of computing results, save that 
the "percentage correctly recorded constituted the grade." 

"If he finds it necessary, E may substitute a silent metronome, made by 
swinging a small weight on a string, but the fact that the regular metro- 
nome is somewhat noisy should not be taken as evidence that it disturbs 
S ; on the contrary, a noise of moderate intensity is not infrequently 
found to be a stimulus to better attention. Moreover, the ticking metro- 
no]ne is much more serviceable when S is asked to pronounce the digits 
in conjunction with E, and it probably operates to some extent to break 
up tendencies to learn the digits by grouping. 



TEST 38 : MEMORY FOR SERIAL IMPRESSIONS [523] 157 

even tempo, clear articulation, and entire absence of rhythm." 
Directly at the conclusion of the series, let 8 repeat as much 
as possible of it. Although, under some circumstances (with 
very young or backward >S"s), an oral reproduction may be im- 
perative, a written reproduction should be considered stand- 
ard, both because the proper placing of the digits furnishes E 
with data for scoring S's performance (and the placing must 
indicate possible omissions), and because experiment shows 
that, at least for maturer >8"s, written reproduction is pre- 
ferred, and is more successful than oral reproduction. ^S's re- 
call should, therefore, be entered upon a prepared blank, with 
the caution to indicate every omission by a dash or a blank 
space.^ 

(2) Visual presentation. Use Cards V-4a, V-4b, etc., to 
V-lOb. Follow the directions for auditory presentation, but 
in place of pronunciation, exhibit the entire card for a length 
of time identical with that for auditory presentation, i. e., with 
an allowance of 1 sec. per digit. The metronome should be 
used here, as in all phases of this test, in order to keep the con- 
ditions of presentation comparable. It probably also tends to 
induce /S"s to apprehend the digits successively and in the same 
tempo as that used for auditoiy presentation. Note to what 
extent 8 articulates the digits : even with lips and tongue 
placed as directed, thej' will often be seen to move, and con- 
tractions of throat muscles may also indicate partial articu- 
lation. 



'The difficulty of speaking without accent, or without grouping the 
digits, has led Binet to reject oral, in favor of visual presentation. Even 
if E pronounces without accent or rhythm, there is no guarantee that (S 
may not mentally cast the digits into a strongly accented and grouped 
series, and, in fact, mature >S's, working with the longer series, are almost 
certain to catch this 'trick' in time. Ritter advocates that E should give 
a decided objective rhythm to every series on just this account ; this factor 
will then form a constant, rather than a variable 'error.' One difficulty 
with this plan lies in the fact that, in using series of varying lengths, it 
is impossible to use any constant metrical phrasing. 

^For group work, the class should be provided with blank forms, so 
numbered and arranged that no misunderstandings may occur on the part 
of (S in entering the data, or on -the part of E in interpreting it. Allow 
ample time for writing. Netschajeff, Pohlmanu and Schuyten all found 2 
min. desirable in classroom tests. In group tests, care must be taken to 
prevent audible repetition of the digits during the reproduction. 



158 [524] AssociATiox, learning and memory 

(3) Auditory-visual jyresentation. E presents the cards, as in 
the purely visual procedure, but also pronounces the digits, 
as in the auditory procedure, by reading them from the back 
of the card. 8 sees and hears the digits. Cards AV-4a to 
AV-lOb are used. 

(4) Aiiditory-visual-artioulatory presentation. E presents 
the cards as in (2), E and S pronounce them in concert, in 
time with the metronome. ^ sees, hears, and pronounces the 
digits. Cards AVA-4a to AVA-lOb are used. 

(5) Auditory-visual-hand-motor presentation. E pronounces 
the digits as in (1) : /S* writes them, as fast as pronounced by E, 
upon scrap paper : when the series is finished, 8 at once discards 
the scrap paper, and reproduces the series. aS' hears, sees, and 
writes the digits. Use the same numbers as in ( 1 ) , but reverse 
the order of the digits. In this test, it will ordinarily be neces- 
sary to devote one or two preliminary trials to fore-exercise. 

Variations op Method. — (1) Meet the bothersome tendency 
toward grouping and rhythmizing — bothersome because ex- 
hibited by some /S"s and not by others — by presenting the digits 
in trochaic rhythm : this device is perhaps favored by selecting 
series of 4, 6, 8, and 10 digits only. 

(2) Introduce a time-interval between presentation and re- 
production. If this interval is short, it may with advantage 
be occupied with some form of distraction, like saying the 
alphabet in concert, since the effect will be more like that of 
a much longer 'empty' interval. The disadvantage of an un- 
occupied interval is that some *S*'s will mentally rehearse the 
series just presented. 

(3) Substitute successive for simultaneous visual presenta- 
tion in Forms 2, 3, and 4. For this purpose, E must prepare 
cards for insertion in the Jastrow memory apparatus,'' so that 



^Jastrow's instrument is adequate if E is careful to malie the exposures 
regularly, in time with the metronome ; it is especially useful for group 
tests. If E desires a more accurate exposure apparatus, for individual 
tests, he may employ the Ranschburg memory-apparatus (now improved 
by Wirth), Kuhlmanu's memory-apparatus, Bergstrom's rather elaborate 
exposin-e apparatus, or G. E. Milller's modification of the kymograph for 
'step-fashion' exposure, as described, in improved form, by McDougall. 
Burt, however, contends that the distraction produced in immature and 
Inexperienced *S"s by the sight of unfamiliar apparatus more than counter- 
balances the advantage of greater precision, mechanical regulation of rate 



TEST 38 : MEMORY FOR SERIAL IMPRESSIONS [525] 159 




FIG. 70. JASTROW'S MEMORY APPARATUS. 

the numbers used in Forms 2, 3, and 4 (above) may now be 
exposed in vertical columns. In order to secure sufficiently 
long series, the exposure-lever of the instrument is so inserted 

cand clunition of exposure, etc. ; he used, for successive exposure, a slotted 
piece of cardboard, wliicli was shoved along the cohuhn of impressions by 
E (apparently at no uniform or constant rate, but as fast as proved con- 
venient to S). 

Kuhlman arranges to have each exposure followed by a blant section 
of perhaiis a different duration from that of the exposure. The idea is 
to control the amount of time that (S can spend in re-imaging or recalling 
the impression just received. According to Kuhlmnnn, /S''s use from one- 
half to two-thirds of the total time at their command in ordinary presenta- 
tions of material for memory tests (whether simultaneous or successive) 
in this process of re-imaging. The importance of the process, he thinks, 
varies much with individuals. 



160 [526] ASSOCIATION, LEARNING AND MEMORY 

as to articulate witli the pegs that provide a drop of 1 in. at 
each exposure. Black letters yg in. high (Willson's, Size 5) 
may then be used. These are visible to the normal eye at 50 
ft., but E should take the precaution, in classroom tests, to seat 
mj'opic /S^s near the front of the room. 

(4) Test the effect, upon a series too long for ;S' to reproduce 
in one presentation, of two, three, or more presentations in 
immediate succession. 

(5) Give repeated tests by the same method, with a series of 
a given length (in excess of ^*'s span), to test the effect of prac- 
tise. 

(6) Change the rate of exposure from one impression per 
sec. to one impression in 2 sec. 

(7) Keeping other conditions (form of presentation, length 
of series, etc.) constant, compare /8"s efficiency under normal 
conditions with that under different forms of distraction. 
Smith (71) used for this purpose three different concomitant 
activities: his ^'s were required during the presentation (a) 
to tap in time with the beat of a metronome, (6) to repeat the 
sjilable Ici;, or (c) to add mentally by 2's or by 3's. 

(8) Prepare cards with letters^'' in place of digits, for use by 
any of the procedures above described. Use onl}^ consonants. 
Avoid alphabetical sequences, or suggestions of words or abbre- 
viations. 

Treatment of Data. — (1) If it is desired only to determine 
aS"s memory span, sensu stricto, this is indicated simply by the 
maximal number of digits that can be reproduced without error 
of any kind. 

(2) If, as is more usual in comparative tests, it is desired to 
determine the degree of correctness with which series longer 
than the span are reproduced, the simplest plan is to assign 
arbitrary scores to the various forms of error. Ebbinghaus, 
for example, scored every omission as 1 error, every displace- 
ment from the correct position in the series by 2 or 3 places as 
0.5 error, and every displacement by 4 or more places as 1 



"Use Willson's black gummed letters. Size 5, for the Jastrow appa- 
ratus, or Size 10 to duplicate the regular printed test-cards. 



TEST 38 : aiEMORY FOR SERIAL IMPRESSIONS [527] 161 



error. /S's should then be compared with respect to their error- 
score in series of each length separately. 

(3) A more scientific method of determining efficiency is that 
of computing the degree of correlation between the order of 
impressions as reproduced by S and their order as presented. 
This is accomplished, following the example of Krueger and 
Spearman, by applying Spearman's 'footrule' formula for cor- 
relation (see Ch. Ill), though, in this connection, it is better 
to modify this formula by counting the sum of all the devia- 
tions between the two series, rather than the sum of all the 
positive, or of all of the negative deviations. 

For treating the data of these memory tests, therefore, the 
formula may be written : 

%d 

R = 1 

(n^-l)/3 

The computation of '^d needs a little explanation. The following eases 
may be considered :" 

(a) Suppose that 8 reproduces all the terms of the original series, 
but not in the correct order. The sum of the deviations is then easily 
computed. In Case A, Table 90, for instance, the sum of the deviations 
is 6, and since n = 10, by the formula just given, K = 0.82. 

TABLE 90 

Use of tlie 'Footrule' Method in Scoring the Memory Test {Spearman) 



ORIGINAL 


CASE A 


CASE B 


CASE C 


SERIES 


Reproduced 


Deviations 


Reproduced 


Deviations 


Reproduced 


Deviations 


3 

7 
9 
4 
2 
1 

8 
5 
6 


3 
7 
2 
9 
4 
1 

5 
8 
6 




2 
1 
1 



1 
1 




3 

7 

9 
4 
1 

8 
6 




? 

i 
1 



? 
? 
i 




3 
7 
2 
9 
4 
2 

5 
8 
6 




2 
1 
1 
9 

6 
1 
1 





Sum of deviations 



12.9 



9.3 



"The author is indebted for these illustrations to a personal communi- 
cation from Professor Spearman. 



162 [528] ASSOCIATION, LEARNING AND MEMORY 

{!)) S\ippose, Case B. that certain terms have been omitted. The 
deviations of the terms given are figured as before. There is then added 
the amount of deviation to be expected for the omitted terms, on the 
assumption that they are distributed by mere chance. The chance devia- 
tion for each term is {n- — 1) -^ 'Sii. In Case B, then, there are three 
omitted terms, each of which deviates by chance 3.3 ph^ces. Hence, the 
Case C, the total deviation = 6 + 3.3 = 9.3. 

(c) Suppose that ;s' reproduces certain terms more than once, e. g., 
the digit 2 in Case C. In this case, the nearer of the tvi^o digits is con- 
sidered as the correct one. The other, or duplicated, term should be re- 
garded as an omission, and treated by the formula just given. Thus, in 
Case C, the total deviation = G -f 3.3 = 9.3. 

{d) Svippose that more than the correct number of terms are repro- 
duced: here the superfluous numbers may be ignored, since, save in 
exceptional cases, they bring about their own penalty by disturbing the 
correspondence of order. 

B. THE METHOD OP LETTER SQUARES 

The idea of displaj-ing simultaneously a series of consonants 
in a simple spatial pattern appears first to have been sug- 
gested by Binet and Henri (11) : the method was extended by 
Cohn, who used it to compare the relative values, for a given S, 
of visual and of auditory-motor learning ; and it has since been 
frequently used with modifications (see, for example, Titchener, 
77, 396 ft'.) as a method of studying ideational types. Winch 
used the method to compare immediate with delayed reproduc- 
tion, Smith to compare various forms of distraction, Anderson 
and Winch to note the relation to sex and age, Wyatt to com- 
pare with school standing. 

Materials. — A set of 10 printed test-cards. Prepared forms 
upon which the reproduction is entered. Stop-watch. [The 
letter-square cards are printed in large type to make the test 
available for group procedure. The arrangements avoid, so 
far as can be foreseen, the use of collocations that might serve 
as aids to memory. Only consonants are used. The blank forms 
are ruled in sets of 12 squares.] 

Method. — Explain to S' the general nature of the test. In- 
form him of the duration of exposure, but give Mm no direc- 
tions as to how he shall attempt to learn the arrangement of the 
letters. Expose the stimulus card for 25 sec. Let him fill out 
the blank form immediately after the exposure. Allow 30 sec. 
for writing. Eepeat with other cards, until 4 to 10 trials have 
been made. 



TEST 38 : :me:mory for serial niPRESsioxs [520] 103 

Variations op Method. — (1) Defer the reproduction for 20 
sec. (or 10 sec, to follow Cohn) after the exposure. Direct *S^ 
to count aloud during this interval, from 1 to 20, 1 number per. 
sec, in time with E (who may follow a silent metronome swing- 
ing once per sec). The object is to subdue or eliminate the 
'memory after-image,' and to secure true recall — in the strict 
sense of recalling an experience which had not been just pre- 
viousl}' in consciousness. 

(2) Direct S to read the letters aloud, twice over, in concert 
with E, at the rate of 1 letter per sec Read by horizontal lines. 
Reproduce with or without the 20 sec interval. 

(3) Direct S to repeat aloud, continuously and rapidly, dur- 
ing the exposure, the syllable 'Ah.' Reproduce fjreferably after 
the 20 sec interval filled with the counting. This form of pro- 
cedure obviously favors the visual memory. If more than one 
trial is made, use other syllables, such as 'La,' 'Oh,' etc, to avoid 
the lapse of articulation to automatism. 

(4) Direct B to count aloud by 2's during the exposure (e. g., 
2, 4, 6, or 3, 5, 7, etc.) or to count backwards from 20. 

(5) After exposure by anj^ of the methods just outlined, 
point to one square after another of the blank forms, in irregu- 
lar order, asking 8 to name or to write the appropriate letters 
as rapidly as possible. Or, without previous warning, ask /? 
to fill in the blank squares in vertical rows, or in horizontal 
rows from right to left. In theory, visual-minded /S's can ac- 
complish this without effort, whereas purely auditory-minded 
aS"s must retrace their verbal associations to find the necessary 
letters. 

Treatment of Data. — (1) Following Winch, assign 3 for 
each letter in its right position, 2 for each letter one remove to 
the right, or left, or above, or below its right position, 1 for 
each letter two removes to the right, or left,- or above, or below.^- 



^-This method of scoring possibly puts somewhat too much stress upon 
right position ; at least, in cases like the letter L in tlie specimen it may 
be felt that it should not go without credit because it is both in the wrong 
row and in the wrong column. However, the method above described is 
the one that has been followefl by all who have worked with letter-squares 
as a mental test. 



164 [530] ASSOCIATION, LEARNING AND MEMORY 

Specvmen of test given Specimen of a marked paper 

M T D X M(3) T(3) L(0) R(l) 

V L Y N ■ L(2) V(2) Y(3) N(3) 

S Z B R Z(2) B(2) S(l) X(l) 

Score: 23 out of a possible 36. 

(2) If ^ be competent to render introspective accounts of 
the manner in which each letter was recalled and placed, E 
laaj, for qualitative purposes, compute separately the score 
for letters recalled visually, auditorily, or in other ways. 



C. MEMORY FOR CONCRETE AND FOR ABSTRACT WORDS 

The essential idea of this test of memory, as devised by Meu- 
mann, and followed, with some modifications, by Burt and by 
Pyle, is to compare ^'s reproduction of a list of concrete, with 
his reproduction of a list of abstract terms, given under identi- 
cal conditions. The comparison is based not only upon the 
simple quantitative efficiency in the two forms of test, but also, 
and more particularly, upon the qualitative analysis of the 
errors in the reproduced lists. Moreover, the test aims to de- 
termine not only /8"s capacity for immediate memory, but also 
his degree of intelligence, or grade of mental development. 
The test rests in principle upon two propositions; first, that 
words whose meaning is understood are more easily retained 
and reproduced than words whose meaning is not understood; 
secondly, that progressive mental development implies pro- 
gressive comprehension of abstract words. 

Material. — For auditory presentation, use the following 
lists. For visual-auditory presentation, use the same lists 
printed upon sheets of cardboard with Willson's gummed let- 
ters. For visual presentation, serial exposure with the aid of 
the Jastrow or other exposure apparatus is recommended. 

Three-term lists Four-term lists 

Concrete Abstract Concrete Abstract 
Street Time Spoon Phase 

Ink Art Horse Work 

Lamp Route Chair Truth 

Stone Thing 



Five-term lists 


Concrete 


Abstract 


Ground 


Tact 


Pen 


Scope 


Clock 


Proof 


Boy 


Scheme 


Chalk 


Form 



TEST 38 : MEAJUKY FOR SERIAL IMPRESSIONS [531] 1G5 



Six- 


term lists 


Seven- 


-term lists 


Eight-term lists 


Concrete 


Abstract 


Concrete 


Abstract 


Concrete 


Abstract 


Deslj 


Space 


Ball 


Craft 


Coat 


Law- 


Millv 


Creed 


Spouge 


Myth 


Girl 


Thought 


Hand 


Pride 


Glass 


Rate 


House 


Plot 


Card 


Guile 


Hat 


Cause 


Salt 


Glee 


Floor 


Pledge 


Fork 


Style 


Glove 


Life 


Cat 


Cue 


Stove 


Youth 


Watch 


Rhythm 






Post 


Mood 


Box 
Mat 


Faith 
Mirth 



The above lists are prepared with, the idea of confining the 
abstract terms to words of one s^dlable, as done hy Burt and by 
Pyle (whose lists are quite similar to the above). This restric- 
tion materially lessens the difference in difficulty between the 
concrete and abstract lists. To duplicate Meumann's condi- 
tions the following abstract lists may be substituted for those 
given above : 



Four-term, list 

Selection 

Analysis 

Explanation 

Character 



Eight-term list 

Behavior 

Tendency 

Interpretation 

Condition 

Opinion 

Capacity 

Profession 

Connection 



Five-term, list 

Society 

Symbol 

Arrangement 

Humanity 

Theory 



Six-termi list 

Conscience 

Investigation 

Symptom 

Formation 

Complexity 

Experiment 



Seven-term, list 

Assumption 

Recognition 

Origin 

Influence 

Development 

Organism 

Value 



Method. — For group tests, folloAV Meumann's procedure. 
Explain the nature of the test and give a sample exercise. Pro- 
vide each ^ with blanks so arranged that his reproductions may 
be properly recorded, the lists carefully separated, and dashes 
inserted for all words omitted. Make clear that the lists are 
to preserve the order of presentation so far as possible. Before 
each presentation, notify the /S's of the number of words to be 
spoken. Enunciate with great care, and without grouping, at 
the rate of one word per sec. Instruct the >S^'s to write their 



166 [532] ASSOCIATION^ LEARNING AND MEMORY 

lists immediately after the presentation, and as rapidly as pos- 
sible, without trying to Svrite their very best,' Guard against 
interruption, intercommunication, or other possible disturb- 
ances. Give the series in order, as above, i. e., 3-term concrete, 
3-term abstract, 4-term concrete, etc., save for mature 8^s, for 
whom the beginning is to be made at the shortest list that all 
can accomplish, and for whom lists of more than 8 terms may 
be arranged hj combining some of the shorter unused lists. 

Variations op Method. — Consult suggestions for the memory 
span for digits (Variations of Method, 2 to 7) . 

Treatment op Data. — (1) The simplest method is to disre- 
gard the question of order and simply to credit 8 one for each 
word correctly recalled. This scoring was used by Simpson 
with lists of 16 words, but is not recommended by him on ac- 
count of its failure to penalize for erroneous insertions. 

(2) Another very simple device is that adopted by Pyle of 
crediting one for each word correctly reproduced, plus one 
more for each word placed in the right order. It is evident that 
this scoring is not specific enough to deal adequately with the 
various possibilities of insertion, substitution, transposition, 
etc. 

(3) Memory for words may be scored by any one of the three 
methods already' proposed for memory span (Treatment of 
Data) . 

(4) The second method proposed for the memorj' span (arbi- 
trary scores for various forms of error) is followed in principle 
hj Burt in his special system of scoring memory for words: 
each correct word correctly placed counts 4 ; each correct word 
misplaced by one move counts 3; each correct word misplaced 
b}' more than one move counts 2; omissions or substitutions 
count 0. Other rules which he followed concern words Avith 
slight alterations ; these, in the author's judgment, are not 
important enough to justify their use unless nonsense sj'^llables 
are used. 

(5) A very elaborate analysis of memoiw for words was em- 
I»loyed by Meumann. For a careful scrutiny of the performance 
in this test E may prefer to adopt such a method, following as 



TEST 38 : MEMORY FOR SERIAL IMPRESSIONS [533] 167 

a suggestive pattern the schema below, which has beeii trans- 
cribed from Meumaun with a few minor modifications. 

ILLUSTRATION OF THE TBEATMENT OF DATA IN MEMOKY FOR WORDS 

Sul)ject: Adolpli L. Age, 8 years. 

Types of Error Number 

1. Memory errors (omissions and displacements) concrete lists. 5% 

2. Memory errors (omissions and displacements), abstract lists.. 7% 

3. Insertions 4 

4. Insertions of nonsense words 1 

5. Fusions 

G. Perseverations 3 

7. Kegressi-\e inhibitions 3 

S. Complete reversals 1 

9. Substitution of synonyms 

10. Substitution of concrete for abstract ] 

11. Wrong formations 4 

12. Misunderstood abstract terms 

13. Spelling Very bad 

14. Handwriting Undeveloped and ugly 

(1) and (2) Omissions are represented by tlie integers, i. e., Adolpb L. 
omitted five words frojn the concrete lists, 7 from the abstract (the test 
was carried to the 7-term list only). Displacements from the correct order 
count % error when the displacement is by one remove only, % error, 
when more than one remo"\'e (save that with j'ounger children, as in the 
case above, all displacements count %.) Hence Adolph L. made 2 dis- 
placements ill the concrete, 7 in the abstract series. 

(3) Insertions are the total number of words added. These are 
counted as 1 error each, unless the added word has some similarity of 
sound to a word actually presented, in which case it counts % error. 

(4) This rubric embraces the relatively infrequent addition of a 
mcaninf/Iess ward that has no similarity in sound or spelling to any of 
those presented. 

(5) Fusions of two or more totally independent, successive terms into 
a single meaningless term are a very significant form of error, which 
appears in abstract lists written by /S's of poor intelligence, e. g., Organ 
and Qattung are reproduced as Orgattung. Mostly found in children 8 
and 9 years old. 

(6) Persererations are indicated by the recording by ^ in a given 
series of a word that had already been reproduced in an earlier series. If 
frequent, this is a sign of a low intelligence, lack of self-control and of 
critical judgment. 

(7) Regressive inhiliitions. Failure to reproduce at least one-half of 
the terms given is. as a rule, to be interpreted as regressive inhibition. 
This condition is commonly attributable to a state of confusion into which 
a child is thrown, when he is suddenly 'overwhelmed' by the task, when 
everything "fiies out of his mind,' he 'loses his wits,' and is unable to 
accomplish even a fraction of his normal performance. The same thing 
is seen in ndiilts under conditions which are difficult for them. Since, 
]Meumann argues, this is essentially due to inability to force attention, 
lack of this ability is a token of poor general ability, and hence of low 
intelligence. l'"ailure due to absolute lack of intent to succeed must, of 
course, be distinguished from the lack of abilitv to succeed. 



168 [534] ASSOCIATION^ LEARNING AND MEMORY 

(8) Complete reversal of word order, either in a large portion, or in 
the whole of a list is "a peculiarly puzzling phenomenon." There are 
occasionally met, for instance, cases in which a series of S words are all 
written in the reverse of the order presented.^^ 

(9) The siibsiitution of synonyms refers to the easily intelligible cases 
in which a word of like meaning, but different sound, replaces the word 
given, e. g., road for street. 

(10) 'The su'bstitution of concrete for ahstract icorcls refers to the use 
of concrete terms of similar sound, whether of similar meaning or not, 
e. g., coxes for cause, simple for symbol. E must use his judgment here in 
maliirig allowances for faulty spelling. 

(11) Wrong formations, especially the use of wrong endings, consti- 
tuted a prolific source of error in the German tests, particularly with 
abstract words, e. g., Glauhheit for Glaxihe. Errors of this type may be 
expected to be less frequent in the less highly inflected and compounded 
English language, but occasional instances will be found, e. g., selectness 
for selection. 

(12) Misunderstood abstract terms is to be regarded (as the author 
understands it) as expressing the sum total of misapprehended abstract 
terms, whether the misunderstanding is indicated by substitutions, faulty 
endings, fusions, very faulty misspellings, or in other ways. 

(13) Orthography constitutes a secondary symptom of intelligence. 
In order to estimate spelling fairly, papers are ranked as 'poor' in spelling 
only when the sum of misspelled words is 50 per cent, or more greater 
than the average number of misspellings for 5^'s class. 

(14) IJandivritiiig constitutes another secondary symptom of intelli- 
gence, and is merely rated, as fairly as possible by comparison of numer- 
ous papers, as good, average, or poor. 

These 14 rubrics are filled out for each iS'. For the estimation 
of memory capacity, pure and simple, Meumaun takes Nos. 1 
and 2 ; for the estimation of intellectual ability, he divides the 
rubrics into three groups, (1) those that serve as indirect in- 
dexes of intelligence (Nos. 1, 2, and 3), (2) those that serve as 
direct evidence of intelligence (Nos., 4 to 12, including a state- 
ment of the relation of Nos. 1 and 2), and (3) those that serve 
as secondary symptoms of degree of mental development (Nos. 
13 and 14). Now, for each of these condensed indexes, the 
grade of each /? is indicated as (1) above average, (2) average, 
or (3) below average, and final comparisons and correlations 
are based upon these grades. 



^■'The author is inclined to regard this phenomenon as a simple case of 
attempt on the part of a few /S"s to get the series right by beginning with 
the last word heard and working back to the first section, fi* may have 
intentionally disregarded instructions to reproduce in the order given, or 
may have interpreted these instructions to include the reverse order as 
acceptable. In other words, it scarcely seems probable that the child does 
not know that he has reversed the order of presentation. 



TEST 38: MEMORY FOR SERIAL IMPRESSIONS [535] 169 
D. MEMORY FOR SENTENCES 

In the first (1905) series of tests proposed by Binet and 
Simon there was included a test of memory for sentences; in 
the second (1908) series, sentences of 6, 16 and 26 syllables 
were inserted in the tests for 3, 6 and 12 years, respectively; 
in the third (1911) series a test of memory for sentences is 
used at 5 and 15 years. In my previous account of the 1908 
series I inserted a provisional set of 21 sentences ranging in 
length from 2 to 42 syllables. These were subsequently tried 
out by Mrs. Squire, and another analogous set of 21 sentences 
was arranged by Carpenter when he repeated Mrs. Squire's test. 
Abelson also used a set of sentences of progressive length in his 
test of backward children. 

Material. — Two printed slips each containing 21 test sen- 
tences (2 to 42 syllables). [For visual presentation, two pieces 
of cardboard.] 

Set I is the same as that published by the author as an adjunct to the 
Binet-Simon tests (1908 series), save that the 11th sentence has been made 
easier and the 12th and 17th sentences liave been made harder to remedy 
the discrepancies found by Mrs. Squire in the original set (74, p. 379). 

Set II is the same as that published by Carpenter, save that the 7th and 
9th sentences have been simplified to remedy the discrepancies that he 
pointed out and that the 10th sentence has been replaced by another, be- 
cause, in my judgment, it differed markedly from the others in content 
and meauingfulness for children. 

No attempt has been made to equate the two sets in respect to difficulty 
of corresponding sentences. Set II is probably less well-arranged than 
Set I. 

Method. — Explain to S that he is to repeat, after once hear- 
ing, a number of sentences; that these will be given one at a 
time, beginning with an easy sentence and becoming more and 
more difficult. Make clear that he must try to repeat the sen- 
tence exactly, word for word. Let 8 sit with his back to E. 
Begin with a sentence well within >8"s grasp — say, with the sec- 
ond sentence for 6-year-old children, or with the fourth or fifth 
sentence for older ones. Read each sentence but once, slowly 
and distinctly. Proceed until positive that no more sentences 
could be correctly repeated, until, say, 8 has failed with three 
sentences in succession. Failure is recorded for any altera- 



170 [536] ASSOCIATION^ LEARNING AND MEMORY 

tion, even for a single substitvition, insertion or omission. Re- 
peat, if desired, with Set II. 

Variation op Method. — For auditorj-visual presentation, 
arrange the two pieces of cardboard to display the material, 
one sentence at a time. Let S read them aloud, once over, and 
immediately repeat what he has read. 

For the many other possible variations of method, such as 
increasing the number of presentations, introducing an interval 
between presentation and reproduction, see under Variations 
of Method in the preceding tests of rote memory. 

Treatment op Data, — The simplest plan is to treat the test 
as one of memoiy span for sentences. /S"s score would then be 
the longest sentence that he could repeat without error. 

The difficulty which may then arise from missing one sen- 
tence and succeeding with the next is perhaps, however, best 
resolved by using for the score the total number of sentences 
correctly repeated ; thus, if the first 8 are correct, the 9th missed, 
the 10th accomplished and the remainder missed, the score is 9 
sentences, not 8 or 10. 

On account of the individual differences in the difficulty pre- 
sented by the same sentences to different S'b, the unreliability 
of the test should be lessened by using both sets of sentences 
whenever time permits; in this case the average score secured 
by the two trials maj be taken as ^'s final record. 

E. MEMORY FOR PICTURES OF OBJECTS 

The first Binet-Simon series (1905) contained one test (No. 
17) in which a card of 13 pictures of objects was shown. De- 
croly and Degand used 3 sets of 8 pictures each. Mrs. Squire 
and Carpenter used a card of 30 such pictures, while Lapie 
presented a series of 8 pictures, successively, at the rate of 
one per second. 

This test, Avhich has an obviously close relation to the test 
of visual apprehension (No. 25) and to Binet's card of objects 
(No. 32A), would appear to have some advantages over more 
formal material, like digits and letters, for use with younger 
children. 



TEST 38 : MEMORY FOR SERIAL IMPRESSIONS [537] 171 

Material. — Cardboard on which is pasted small colored pic- 
tures of 13 familiar objects. Stop-watch. 

Method. — Explain the nature of the test to ;S'; inform him 
that he is to have half a minute to look at the pictures, and 
that direct^ afterward he is to name as many of the objects 
as he can. For adults or older children it may be found desir- 
able to reduce the time of exposure to 15 sec. 

Variations op Metpiod.- — The mere enumeration of the objects 
may be supplemented by a demand for further description of 
them, especially of their colors, or of their location on the 
cardboard. Mature ^'s may be quizzed concerning their 
method of memorizing and recalling the pictures. They may 
also be tested for recognition by presenting the cardboard, 
after they have named as many items as possible, to see whether 
the omitted items can be readily recognized, or they may be 
given a tjqjewritten list of 30 or 40 objects (including those on 
the card) from w^hich they are to pick those presented. (Cf. 
Test 25, B and Test 32, A.) 

Treatment op Data. — vScore one for each object correctly 
named. Make record of insertions and substitutions. Note 
which objects are most often, which least often recalled. 

Results. — (1) Norriis of performance for memory span for 
digits will be found in Tables 91 to 94, for letter squares in 
Tables 95 and 9G, for words in Tables 97 and 98, for sentences 
in Table 99 and for pictures of objects in Table 100. 

TABLE 91 

Norms of Memory Span for Digits, as Conditioned hi/ Age (Smedley) 



AGE 


AUDITORY SPAN 


VISUAL SPAN 


AGE 


AUDITORY SPAN 


VISUAL SPA 


N 


7 


5 


5 


14 


6 


7 




8 


5 


5 


15 


6 


7 




9 


5 


6 


16 


6 


7 




10 


6 


6 


17 


7 


8 




11 


6 


6 


18 


6 


7 




12 


6 


7 


19 


7 


8 




13 


6 


7 











172 [538] ASSOCIATION^ LEARNING AND MEMORY 



TABLE 92 

Development of Memory for Digits (Smedley) 



AVERAGE AGE 




PER CENT. REPRODUCED 


Years 


Months 




Auditory 


Visual 




7 


8 


19 


36.4 


35.2 




8 


8 


58 


44.8 


42.8 




9 


6 


100 


45.0 


47.4 




10 


5 


89 


49.4 


54.6 




11 


6 


91 


55.4 


64.7 




12 


6 


93 


55.7 


72.3 




13 


7 


109 


57.9 


76.8 




14 


6 


114 


66.2 


80.5 




15 


6 


94 


65.6 


78.2 




16 


6 


77 


66.9 


81.3 




17 


6 


56 


65.5 


84.1 




18 


5 


25 


67.2 


77.5 




19 


5 


12 


70.0 


85.3 





TABLE 93 

Dependence of Memory Span for Auditory Digits on Age (Jacobs) 



AGE 


8 


9 


10 


11 


12 


13 


14 


15 


16 


17 


18 


19 


Number 


























tested 


8 


13 


19 


36 


41 


42 


42 


72 


66 


50 


30 


14 


Average 


























Span 


6.6 


6.7 


6.8 


7.2 


7.4 


7.3 


7.3 


7.7 


8.0 


8.0 


8.6 


8.6 



TABLE 94 

Dependence of Memory for Auditory Digits on Age {Ebbinghaus) 
(Average Number of Errors per Pupil in Two Series) 



AVERAGE AGE 


8-DIGlT SERIES 


9-DIGIT SERIES 


lO-DIGIT SERIES 


6 TO 10 DIGITS 


10.7 


3.1 


5.1 


7.4 


17.8 


12.2 


2.9 


4.7 


7.9 


17.5 


13.2 


1.5 


2.6 


4.2 


9.1 


14.4 


1.6 


3.0 


4.9 


10.5 


15.5 


1.0 


2.1 


3.7 


7.6 


17.1 


0.8 


1.4 


3.9 


6.5 


18.0 


0.9 


1.4 


3.4 


6.1 



TEST 38 : MEMORY FOR SERIAL IMPRESSIONS [539] 173 



TABLE S5 

Memory for Letter Squares, in Relation to Age and Practise (Winch) 









AVERAGE SCORE 


Average 




NUMBER 


AVERAGE AGE 




for 










GRADE 


TESTED 




1st 10 Tests 


2d 10 Tests 


3d 10 Tests 


3 Sets 


Ex-vii. 


5 


14 5'rs. 3 mos. 


23.8 


29.0 


31.7 


28.1 


vii. 


5 


13 " 5 " 


26.3 


27.9 


31.1 


28.4 


vi. 


5 


12 " 3 " 


26.8 


32.0 


34.6 


31.1* 


V. 


5 


11 " 4 " 


18.4 


22.9 


26.3 


22.5 


iv. 


6 


10 " 5 " 


21.3 


24.8 


26.6 


24.2 


iii. 


6 


9 " " 


14.1 


17.7 


19.7 


17.1 


ii. 


6 


8 " 2 " 


13.2 


16.8 


17.2 


15.7 



*The girls of this group proved to have special ability. 

TABLE 9G 

Memory for Letter Squares, Score for 10 Trials (Anderson) 



AGE 


CASES 


MEAN 


MINIMUM 


MAXIMUM 


8 ■ 


52 


108.2 


47 


198 


9 


92 


109.7 


36 


182 


10 


115 


127.7 


35 


213 


11 


126 


139.8 


60 


264 


12 


139 


157.8 


76 


272 


13 


125 


156.9 


52 


298 


14 


96 


165.6 


74 


283 


15 


58 


170.8 


67 


323 


16 


25 


181.6 


104 


318 



TABLE 97 

Memory for Concrete Words in Relation to Age and Sex (Pyle) 



SEX 


AGE 


8 


9 


10 


11 


12 


13 


14 


15 


16 


17 


18 


ADULTS 


Male 


Cases 
Mean 


34 
81.2 


58 
32.4 


64 
35.8 


55 
37.7 


60 
37.7 


60 
38.3 


35 

40.0 


25 

40.2 


14 
43.4 


7 
45.7 


5 
49.0 


64 
44.3 


Female 


Cases 
Mean 


37 
32.9 


68 
32.7 


69 
39.6 


52 
37.7 


70 
38.7 


51 

40.4 


34 
44.2 


13 

42.0 


17 

42.5 


8 
40.5 


2 

52.0 


88 
47.6 



174 [540] ASSOCIATION. LEARNING AND MEMORY 

TABLE 98 
Memory for Ahstravi Words in Relation to Age and Sex (Pyle) 



SEX 


AGE 


8 


9 


10 


11 


12 


13 


14 


15 


16 


17 


18 


ADULTS 


Male 


Cases 
Mean 


34 
22.9 


58 
26.3 


63 
26.8 


55 
31.7 


60 60 
31.0 32.4 


35 25 
37.3 34.1 


14 
40.0 


7 
41.1 


5 

40.8 


62 
42.3 


Female 


Cases 
Mean 


37? 
20.5 


68 69 52 
24.0 31.0 31.8 


69 
34.0 


52 
36.0 


34 
39.0 


13 

37.8 


17 
41.0 


9 
37.0 


2 
49.0 


88 
39.8 



TABLE 99 

Average Nitmljer of Sentences Correctly Repeated {After Squire and 

Carpenter) 



AGE 


6 


7 


8 


9 


10 


11 


12 


13 


14 


Squire 

Carpenter 


7.8 
5.3 


8.4 
6.0 


9.8 
6.2 


10.1 
7.2 


10.9 
7.4 


10.9 13.5 

7.7 8.0 


14.5 

8.3 


8~5 



TABLE 100 
Memory for Pictures of Objects {After Squire and Carpenter) 



AGE 


6 


7 


8 


9 


10 


11 


12 


13 


14 


Squire 

Carpenter 


5.3 
5.3 


6.5 
6.1 


9.5 
6.0 


9.8 
7.3 


9.1 

7.5 


11.4 
7.5 


10.5 
8.4 


10.0 
9.2 


I'ol 



In comparing new data with these results, differences in 
metliod must ahvays be kept in mind. The differences between 
Smedley's conduct of the memory-span test and that prescribed 
above has already been described. The data of Table 92 are 
shown graphically in Fig. 71. It will be noted that Table 93 
deals with averages, Table 91 with standards of performance, 
Table 94 Avith number of errors. Supplementing Tables 91 and 
93, W. V. Bingham has reported to me the following results 
for auditory memory span for digits, secured from some 200 
Dartmouth freshmen : median 7, P. E. 0.34, range from 5 or 
less to 12. 



TEST ns : :\if::MOiiY for serial nrpRESSioxs [541] 175 

I am not able to explain the ditrei-euces between the ave]-ay,es 
for letter-squares reported by Winch and by Anderson, save on 
the basis of selection of *S"s : Anderson's results were obtained 
under my direction at Ithaca, N. Y., and include children in 
the public schools Avitli no attempt at selection. 

With reference to Table 99, the discrepancies between the 
results of the investigators are due jjrimarily to tAvo causes : 
Mrs. Squires' data refer to unretarded children only, and are 
based, as already explained, upon a different set of sentences. 
That the first of these factors is the more important seems indi- 
cated by similar divergencies in Table 100, where the experi- 
mental conditions must have been nearlj^ identical. Other 
norms for sentences based upon results with the Binet tests 
include as standards : capacity to repeat a sentence of 
syllables at 3 years, of 10 syllables at 5 years, of 16 syllables at 
6 years and of 26 syllables at 12 years. It is unnecessary to 
add that much depends ujjon the sentences. 

With regard to Table 100, it must be remembered that the 
averages given are based upon a presentation of a group of 30 
objects: the use of 13 objects as specified in the directions 
above will yield somewhat smaller averages; competent adults 
usually get but 11 objects after an exposure of 15 sec. For the 
exposure of 13 pictures Binet reported the following average 
performances : at 7 years, 4.3 pictures ; at 9 years, 6.2 pictures ; 
at 11 years, 7.2 pictures. 

(2) Dependence on age. That memory capacity increases in 
general from the early to the late school years is illustrated in 
Tables 91 to 101. The general evidence is fairly clear that this 
improvement is steady up to puberty, but that it suffers fluctua- 
tions after that period (see Tables 92, 94, 96, 97, 98). Several 
investigators adduce evidence that corroborates the popular 
notion that there exists a special 'memory period,' or stage of 
maximal efficiency somewhere in the 'teens,' when memory is 
stronger than it is later. For example, the very careful work 
of Pohlmann, with varied materials and varied forms of pres- 
entation, yields the net results (method of retained members) 
shown in Table 101, in which maximal efficiency is indicated at 
14, followed by fluctuations, without real improvement through 



176 [542] ASSOCIATION^ LEARNING AND MEMORY 

the adolescent period. Bourdon oonld discern progress from 8 
to 13^ but not from 14 to 20. Bernstein and Bogdanoff, in test- 
ing memory for geometrical figures hj the method of recogni- 



TABLE 101 

Net Efficiency of Various Memories, in Relation to Age {Pohlmann) 



AGE 


9 


10 


11 


12 


13 


14 


15 


16 


17 


18 


19 


20 


Average 
Capacity 


39.4 


41.4. 


55.7 


59.1 


62.1 


68.9 


55.3 


62.9 


58.6 


58.0 


65.4 


68.3 



tion, found that 23 ;S"s aged 14 to 15 averaged better than the 
55 adults that they tested. Wessely, who tested retention dur- 
ing a long period (1 and 2 years), was convinced that ability 
to retain and reproduce poems is maximal at the years 12 to 14, 
and that vocabularies (Latin-German) are reproduced more 
accurately at the expiration of 1 to 4 weeks, when learned by 
12-year-old, than when learned by 15-year-old aS"s. Similar 
assertions concerning the relative amount of retentive capacity 
for poems by children and by adults are made by Larguier (48, 
185 ff.), while Binet (8, 259 ff.) believes that children have the 
better retentive capacity, and adults the better attentive 
capacity. 

Over against this evidence for a decline of efficiency after 14 
we have the figures of Jacobs (Table 93) and the emphatic 
statement of Smedley (70, p. 49), based upon his Chicago re- 
sults (Table 92), that "there is no 'memory period,' no period 
in early school life when the memory is stronger than it is at 
any later portion of the child's life." Smedley's records do, 
indeed, show that "auditory memory develops rapidly up to 
about 14 years of age, and but slowly after this period. The 
visual memory seems to develop rapidly up to about 15 or 10 
years of age." . . . "It will be noted [Fig. 71] that, in the early 
life of the child, the auditory memory is stronger than the 
V'-Jsual memory; after about 9 years of age, the visual memory 
of most of the children becomes stronger than the auditory 



TEST 38 : MEMORY FOR SERIAL IMPRESSIONS [543] 177 



Age 



90^0 
85" 

so- 
ys- 

70" 
65" 

60" 
55" 

50" 
45" 
40" 



35" 



7 8 ^ 


) 10 11 12 1 


3 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 


























j 


























\ / 


1 
1 














'^ 


5/ 


/ 


K-.^ 






V 
















/ 


























1 

I 


/ 


r 


!i$2 


^ 


^ 




y 


/ 












1 
1 

1 

1 


/ 


/ 






















/ 

/ 


r — 


7 
























/ 
1 1 


r 
























/ 


























1 ' 
/ / 
/ f 

ft 


























1 1 


f 



























FIG. 71. DEVELOPMENT OF MEMORY FOE DIGITS (From Smedley). 



178 [544] ASSOCIATION, LEARNING AND MEMORY 

memory, and continues to develop more rapidly than the audi- 
tovj memory throughout school life. Yet, even in the high 
school, there still remains a small proportion of the pupils 
whose hearing memory is the stronger." 

The dependence of different types of memory upon age has 
been studied especially by Netschajeff and by Lobsien. They 
agree substantially that, while the various forms of memory 
improve with age on the whole, there are periods of rapid de- 
velopment, followed by no improvement or even by a reduction ; 
that while, on the whole, the greatest improvement occurs dur- 
ing the years 10 to 12, and development is retarded after 14, 
yet the different forms of memory, considered specifically, de- 
velop at different rates, and at periods that may not coincide 
in the two sexes. Thus, in boys, memory for objects is at first 
best developed, then follow, in order of chronological develop- 
ment, memory for visual terms, for acoustic terms, for actual 
sounds, for tactual terms, for numbers, for abstract terms, and 
finally for emotional terms. For girls, the chronological order 
is: visual terms, objects, sounds, numbers, abstract terms, 
acoustic terms, tactual terms, emotional terms. Special stress 
is laid upon the parallelism of development between memory 
for numbers and memory for abstract terms. 

In Meumann's word-list tests, those types of error that indi- 
cate poor intelligence decreased with age, until, at 14 and 15, 
instances of misunderstood abstract terms were limited to 
about 10 per cent, of his ;S"s, while meaningless fusions, mean- 
ingless insertions, and the substitution of concrete for abstract 
terms had nearly disappeared, and the memory for abstract 
terms had so increased as frequently to be superior to that for 
concrete terms. It follows that age must always be taken into 
account in the interpretation of this test, particular!}^ in esti- 
mating intelligence by it. 

Since in a memory test so much depends upon the conditions 
of presentation, as will appear in what follows, I am inclined 
to regard many of these generalizations as of significance only 
under the particular conditions of the testing. The one safe 
generalization as to dependence on age would appear to be that 
made at the outset, viz. : capacity for immediate verbatim re- 



TEST 3S : MEAIOUY FOR SEKIAL IMPRESSIONS [545] 170 

l-'roduction increases decidedly from early life to jjuberty, par- 
ticularly during the period between 10 and 12, and increases 
more slowly and with fluctuations from puberty to maturity. 
The results of Cohn and Dieffenbacher, not here reproduced in 
detail, also accord entirely with this conclusion, as do the 
position of the medians in Anderson's percentile curves (Figs. 
72 and 73). 

(3) Dependence on sex. In general, girls pretty certainly 
■surpass boys in immediate memory, but the differences are not 
always marked and perhaps do not extend to all forms of mate- 
rial. Investigations that agree in showing a general supe- 
riorit}' of girls and women over boys and men are those of 
Anderson, Burt, Bolton, Calkins, Kirkpatrick, Pohlmann and 
Schuyten. Burt and Moore state that only 12.6 per cent, of 
boj'S exceed the median of girls, and add that "feminine supe- 
riority is a constant phenomenon in memory tests of every 
kind. It matters little what the age or training of the subjects 
may be. Hence, it is one of the best attested sex-differences 
and one of the most likely to be innate." ^* 

The results of Anderson's extensive tests with letter squares 
have been summarized in Table 96. From Anderson's original 
data there have been arranged, after a preliminary process of 
numerical 'smoothing,' the percentile curves shown in Figs. 
72 and 73. 



Curves of this coiistimction are so valuable for diagnosing the station 
of any individual's performance that these curves are here reproduced, 
despite the fact that thej- exhibit a number of irregularities due to the 
small number of cases available at certain ages. I have also calculated 
from Anderson's data the tables of disti'ibution (102 and 103). It is 
therefore possible for any E to use these data by adding to them further 
scores and then recasting the percentile curves to accord with the com- 
bined data. For this purpose the scores inay be considered as if they were 
the middle points Avithin the ranges here indicated ; for example, tiie dis- 
tribution for 9-year-oId boys may be read, 3 scores of 65, 4 scores of 
75, etc. 

By inspection of the medians (50th percentiles) in these 
charts it will be seen that girls are inferior to boys at 9 years 

"I lind, however, so'ne ditliculty in identifying the figures upon which 
this conclusion is based, as they appear in Burt's different articles not to 
refer to the same groups. 



180 [546] ASSOCIATION^ LEARNING AND MEMORY 

320'" '° ^° ^° '*° ^° '°° '^° ®° ^° '°° 



380 



260 



240 



2oo 




I60 



FIG. 72. PERCENTILES OF MEMOBY FOR LETTER SQUARES, BOl'S (Andei'SOn). 



TEST 38 : MEMORY FOR SERIAL IMPRESSIONS [547] 181 




FIG. 73. PERCENTILES OF MEMORY FOR LETTER SQUARES, GIRLS ( AnderSOn ) . 



182 [548J ASvSOCIATION, LEARNING AND MEMORY 

and practically the same as hojs at 12 j^ears, but that else- 
where the girls are superior and that their superiority is espe- 
cially striking in the higher percentiles. The curves are un- 
doubtedly affected by a poor group of girls at 9 years and an 
unusually good group of boys at 12 years, since the progress 
with age is decidedly broken at these points in the manner 
mentioned. On the whole, Anderson figures, girls are some 
27 per cent, better than the boys in letter squares. 



TABLE 102 

DistriMition of Boys' Scores in Letter Squares (After Anderson) 



AGE 


8 


9 


10 


11 


12 


13 


14 


15 


16 


60- 69 


1 


3 


1 


1 












70- 79 


1 


4 


4 


3 




1 


2 






80- 89 


2 


5 


2 


3 


3 


2 


1 






90- 99 


5 


5 


7 


9 


2 


2 


2 






100-109 


5 


3 


10 


2 


3 


6 


1 


2 




110-119 





4 


9 


5 


3 


3 


1 


2 




120-129 


5 


6 


4 


4 


4 


3 


7 


1 




130-139 


1 


4 


3 


5 


9 


9 


2 


3 


3 


140-149 





3 


6 


9 


6 


9 


4 


3 


1 


150-159 





4 


3 


5 


11 


8 


3 


2 


1 


160-169 


1 


1 


3 


4 


7 


4 


3 


2 


1 


170-179 







1 


4 


9 


3 


2 


5 


2 


180-189 




1 





3 


3 


4 


3 


5 


1 


190-199 






1 


2 


1 


5 


4 


2 


1 


200-209 











2 


2 


3 


2 


1 


210-219 











3 


1 


3 








220-229 











1 


3 


1 


1 





230-239 











2 


2 


1 








240-249 








1 


1 


1 










250-259 


















1 





260-269 








1 


1 








1 


270-279 










1 










Total— 


21 


43 


54 


61 


72 


68 


43 


31 


12 



In other investigations the superiority of girls is either less 
clearly evident or exhibited in some aspects of the tests only. 
Thus Lobsien's tests Avith varied materials (Table 106) likewise 
showed that girls reproduced more, but that boys were more 



TEST 38 : AlEMUUY FOU SERIAL IMPRESSIONS [549] 183 



TABLE 103 

Distribution of Girls' Scores in Letter Squares (After Anderson) 



AGE 


8 


9 


10 


11 


12 


13 


14 


15 


16 


30- 39 






1 














40- 49 


1 


2 

















50- 59 















1 








60- 69 


1 


1 


1 






1 




1 




70- 79 


2 


3 


2 


2 


1 





1 







80- 89 


5 


4 


3 


1 


1 


2 


2 







90- 99 


4 


5 


1 


3 


2 


2 


1 


1 




100-109 


4 


9 


4 


5 


5 


2 





1 


1 


110-119 


2 


11 


4 


3 


4 





1 








120-129 


6 


2 


7 


10 


4 


5 


2 





1 


180-139 


3 


4 


10 


6 


7 


6 


5 


2 





140-149 


1 


5 


10 


7 


8 


9 


6 





1 


150-159 





1 


2 


6 


5 


3 


3 


4 


1 


160-169 





1 


4 


6 


3 


3 


6 


3 


1 


170-179 







2 


3 


7 


5 


5 


2 


2 


180-189 


1 







2 


4 


6 


6 


1 





190-199 






1 


4 


6 


3 


3 


7 


1 


200-209 






1 


2 


4 





3 





1 


210-219 








1 


3 





3 





3 


220-229 








1 




2 


1 








230-239 















1 








240-249 
























250-259 












1 











260-269 












1 











270-279 












1 











280-289 















1 








290-299 












1 










300-309 






















310-319 



















1 


320-329 
















1 




Total__ 


31 


48 


61 


65 


67 


57 


53 


26 


13 



apt to get the o^^^r riglit.^^ Netschajeff also concluded that 
girls made more illusory errors (especially at ages 9 to 11). 
He also found that hojs, had the better memory for real objects, 
girls for numbers and words, in which they surpassed boys, 
particularly during the years 11 to 14. Wissler's tabulation 



'Note analogous results in the Test of Report (No. 32), 



184 [550] ASSOCIATION^ LEARNING AND MEMORY 

of the freslimen tests at Columbia University and Barnard 
College reveals sex differences in memory span for digits that 
are less than the P.E. of the averages, and that favor the men 
for auditory, and the women for visual series (Table 105). 

TABLE 104 

Percentage of Accuracy in Meinori/ for 2-place Numbers {Schuyten) 







MORNING 


AFTERNOON 


First test 
(Afternoon first) 


Boys 

Girls 


58.1 

69.6 


64.0 

77.5 


Second test 
(Morning first) 


Boys 

Girls 


57.9 
62.6 


35.0 
55.1 



TABLE 105 

Sex Differences in Memory Span for Digits in College Freslimen 

{Wissler) 





AUDITORY PRESENTATION 


VISUAL PRESENTATION 




Number 


Average 


p. E. 


Number 


Average 


P.E. 


Men 
Women 


266 
42 


7.6 
7.3 


0.4 
0.5 


142 
42 


6.9 
7.3 


0.5 
0.4 



Pyle's averages for memory for vt^ords show possibly an advan- 
tage for the girls, but the differences are only slight. Cohn and 
Dieffenbacher, similarly, find that girls surpass boys only when 
groups of the same school grade and same social status are com- 
pared, and that when the results are plotted by age the curves 
cross each other six times, so that the sex-difference which ap- 
pears in lump comparisons turns out to be practically an 
accident. 

{'^) Dependence on practise, {a) General. Practise produces 
a measurable increase in the memory span (Bolton). In the 
use of nonsense syllables, indeed, the practise effect can be dis- 



TEST 38 : MEMORY FOR SERIAL IMPRESSIONS [551] 185 

cerned even at the expiration of 60 days of experimental work 
(Miiller and Schumann). 

Winch, from his use of the letter-square, as well as of audi- 
tory letter series, not only declares that there is a "marked 
and almost invariable improvement," but ''that 'pure memory' 
is markedly improvable by practise" (80, p. 134) . Thus, 38 ^'s, 
ages 8 to over 14, obtained, in 3 sets of 10 tests each (1 week 
between the 1st and 2d, and 2 weeks between the 2d and 3d), 
the average scores 20.6, 24.4, and 26.6 (averages of the scores 
of Table 95). 

(6) The transfer of practise from the specially trained form 
of memory to other forms of memory would appear, from the- 
oretical grounds, to be limited to those cases in which the mate- 
rial, content, or method of procedure of the other forms were 
related to the material, content, or method of procedure of the 
trained form. This is essentially the conclusion reached by 
Ebert and Meumann (25, p. 200), who say: "The objective 
results of our experiment show that special memory practise 
is accompanied by a general improvement of niemoiy. This con- 
comitant improvement does not, however, extend equally to the 
other 'memories,' but appears to follow the law that the specific 
memories participate in the improvement directly in proportion 
as they are related in content, or in media and method of learn- 
ing to the specific memory that was trained." 

Winch has been led, by experiments in memorization of 
poetry and historical prose (81a), to take the more radical 
stand that "improvement, gained in practise in memorizing 
one subject of instruction, is transferred to memor}- work in 
other subjects whose nature is certainly diverse from that in 
which the improvement was gained, ... at least so far as 
children of these ages and attainments are concerned." Again, 
in his second paper (81b) he concludes that "improvement 
through practise in rote memory for things with and without 
meaning is followed by improvement in substance memory for 
stories," and this even though the correlation between the two 
functions is very low and even doubtful. 

On the other hand. Starch found no improvement in auditory 



186 [552] ASSOCIATION^ LEARNING AND MEMORY 

memory span after 14 days of drill in mental multiplication, 
and Sleight found no general improvement in his drilled sec- 
tions, save that <S's drilled in memorizing poetry or tables 
showed subsequent improvement in memory for nonsense syl- 
lables, on account, he thinks, of the use of rhythm in these 
types of memorizing. Drill in memory for 'prose substance' 
improved that sort of memory, but no other, and even worked 
disastrously for subsequent memorizing of nonsense syllables. 
The conclusions reached by Ebert and Meunianu have been 
criticized by several writers and directly controverted by Wes- 
sely, who says that for memory there seems to be no formal 
practise effect.^'' 

(5) Dependence on fatigue. Though fatigue may affect im- 
mediate memoiw and undoubtedly does so when severe, it is difli- 
cult to arrange memory tests that will serve as useful indexes 
of fatigue, particularly because either practise or ennui affects 
the results more than does true fatigue. On this point we find 
Bolton, Ebbinghaus, Schu^^ten and Smedley in agreement. Two 
investigators, however, have secured results worth mentioning. 
Winch (82) divided pupils into two equivalent sections and 
practised them with letter-squares until the rank-orders Avere 
'steady.' He then continued the tests with one group in the 
morning, Avith the other in the afternoon. Both groups showed 
improvement, but the morning Avorkers improved from 2 to O 
per cent, more than the afternoon Avorkers. Bitter gave up the 
determination of fatigue by span tests Avitli numerals, but he 
did achieve results which he considers of special value by the 
use of 6-term series of tAvo-syllabled nouns. With this material, 
he finds that errors increase Avith fatigue, and he goes so far 
as to assert that this test is the best one available for the in- 
vestigation of fatigue. 



"Allusion may be made in this connection to the evidence for transfer 
found by Dallenbacla with experiments in the analogous field of visual 
apprehension (Test 25). Aside from the fact that Sleight worked with 
pupils as well as adults, it is possible that the discrejtaneies noted here 
concei-ning the transfer of practise may be due to the ages of the .S^'s 
studied. I have suggested elsewhere {JEdP^. 5: 1914, o()2) that, particu- 
larly in the case of transfer, experimentation with children has been 
neglected and that results secured with adults may not necessarily apply 
to the mental processes of children. 



TEST 38 : MEINIORY FOR SERIAL IMPRESSIONS [558] 187 

(6) Dependence on physical capacity. Both Netschajeff and 
Smedley find that pupils that are larger, stronger, and better 
developed physically have better memories than those of the 
contrary type. ''This suggests," says Smedley, "that the imme- 
diate sense memory is dependent upon good brain formation 
and nutrition." (See 70, pp. 58-59, for numerical evidence.) 

Miss Kohnky used memory span for digits among other tests 
in an investigation of the effect of dental treatment upon 
pupils in a 5th-grade Cincinnati school. The series with 6 
digits proved too easy for this work; the series with 8 digits 
yielded virtually the same results for treated and untreated 
pupils, but the series with 7 digits yielded a gain of 10.8 per 
cent, betw^een tests made in October and in the following May 
in the case of the pupils having dental treatment, as contrasted 
with no gain in the pupils without treatment. 

(7) Dependence on the nature of the material, (a) When 
digits and consonants are given under the same conditions, 
digits are easier to reproduce (Jacobs, Sharp), especially dur- 
ing the years 8 to 13 (Bourdon). But, if 10-place series are 
presented auditorily, thrice, the order of excellence for recall 
is (1) consonants, (2) names of objects, (3) 2-place numbers, 
(4) nonsense syllables (Pohlmann). 

(6) Netschajeff, Lobsien, Pohlmann, and less elaborately 
Kirkpatrick and Calkins, have compared memory for series 
made up of real objects, of numbers, of sounds, and of words 

TABLE 106 

Memory for 9-term Series of Different Kinds (Lohsien) 



KIND OF SERIES 



Eeal objects 

Auditory numbers 
Sounds 

Tactual terms 

Visual terms 

Auditory terms— 
Emotional terms- 
Foreign terms 




SCORE IN PER CENT. CORRECT 



91.4 
71.8 
62.2 
71.0 
67.2 
60.2 
59.4 
23.8 



188 [554] ASSOCIATION, LEARNING AND MEMORY 

having characteristically visual, auditory, tactual, or emotional 
associative meanings. Table 106 gives illustrative results from 
Lobsien. Pohlmann, however, concluded that the assumption 
of Netschajeff and Lobsien that the presentation of visual, 
auditory, and other terms arouses the visual, auditory, and 
other imagery that their meaning implies, is erroneous, so that 
the results of these investigations are of little real significance. 

Kirkpatrick, and after him Miss Calkins, found, like Net- 
schajeff and Lobsien, that memory for objects (or pictures of 
objects) was superior to that for words, both for immediate 
and for delayed reproduction ; in the latter, for example, there 
were recalled seven times as many objects as words. The same 
investigators determined the order of excellence for recall of 
different kinds of words to be: — visual terms, auditory terms, 
names of objects. 

(c) Up to the 12th year, concrete tvords are reproduced better 
than abstract words, but 14 and 15-year-old >8"s frequently 
make better records with the latter, according to Meumann; 
but according to Pyle, concrete words are reproduced better at 
every age. The average difference amounts in Pyle and in 



TABLE 107 
Memory for Related and for Unrelated Words (Norsworthy) 





Related Words, 288 Cases 


Unrelated Words, 270 Cases 


Age 


BOYS 


GIRLS 


BOYS 


GIRLS 




Median 


p. E. 


Median 


p. E. 


Median 


p. E. 


Median 


p. E. 


8 


13.0 


1.0 


13.0 


1.6 


11.1 


1.6 


11.5 


1.3 


9 


14.0 


2.0 


14.0 


1.7 


12.2 


1.7 


12.4 


1.4 


10 


15.0 


1.7 


15.3 


1.9 


12.2 


1.7 


14.4 


1.4 


11 


15.0 


1.7 


16.5 


1.7 


12.5 


1.8 


14.3 


1.4 


12 


16.4 


1.8 


16.0 


1.6 


12.8 


1.8 


14.0 


1.5 


13 


16.5 


1.8 


17.0 


1.5 


13.5 


2.1 


13.5 


1.5 


14 


16.9 


1.3 


17.5 


1.5 


13.7 


2.2 


14.0 


1.5 


15 


16.0 


1.3 


17.5 


1.5 


13.7 


2.2 


14.0 


1.5 


16 


17.0 


1.3 


17.8 


1.5 


14.0 


2.2 


14.5 


1.5 


Adults 


16.5 


1.5 


17.0 


1.9 


12.8 


1.2 


13.0 


1.4 



TEST ^8 : MEMORY FOR SERIAL IMPRESSIONS [555] 189 

Burt (16) to 20 per ceiit., roughly, i. e., most *S"s recall about 
one-fifth more concrete than abstract words. 

[d) Related terms, i. e., a series of words not in a sentence, 
but readily associated with one another, are more easily re- 
called than unrelated words. For data, see Table 107 from 
Miss Norsworthy. 

(e) Material so arranged as to aid localization is more easily 
remembered, especially by children. For example, 12 con- 
sonants in the letter-square form are easier to recall than 12 
consonants in a single line; similarly, digits pronounced in 
rhythm are easier to recall than digits pronounced in even 
tempo (Miiller and Schumann). Pohlmann found grouped 
series to be easier in 133 of 144 trials. 

(8) Dependence on sense-department directly stimulated. It 
is evident that a complete isolation of the different modalities 
cannot be accomplished by different forms of presentation : e. g., 
auditory-minded ;S's may actuall}' retain and reproduce impres- 
sions presented to the eye in auditory, or mainly in auditory 
terms, and so on (cf. Abbott and Finzi) . It is also evident that 
what seem like minor variations in the manner of conducting 
the test maj^ occasion considerable variations in the perform- 
ance of 8'h. These facts account for much of the divergence 
and seeming contradiction in the results of various investi- 
gators with regard to the relative advantage of addressing 
stimuli to different senses.^^ 

With regard to the relative advantage of auditory over visual 
presentation Kemsies found presentation by ear the better for 
Latin words and for nonsense syllables; von Sybel found audi- 
tory presentation better than visual for both auditory and 
visual types of 8"^; Henmon found as his most striking result 
a marked superiority of auditory over visual presentation for 
all of his >S's and for all forms of material. Hawkins reported 
that ten nouns heard are recalled better than ten nouns suc- 
cessively seen in the case of younger *S"s, but that the reverse 



"These divergencies have been well summarized by Henmon, to whose 
account the reader is referred for details of the conclusions reached by 
Meumann, Miinsterberg and Bigham, Quantz, Lay, Itschner, Fiichs and 
Haggenmiiller, Cohn. Kemsies, Finzi, Fraukl, Segal, von Sybel, Schuyten, 
Pohlmann and others, together with his own conclusions. 



190 [556] ASSOCIATION^ LEARNING AND MEMORY 

holds true for above 15 years. Pohlmann's extensive experi- 
ments, which are criticized by Henmon because of being con- 
ducted by the group method, show that auditory presentation 
is better for meaningful material (words), while the reverse 
is true with non-sig-nificant material (digits and nonsense 
syllables). On the other hand, the superiority of visual over 
auditory presentation appears in the tables and charts of 
^medley and in Chambers' results for 7th and Stli grade pupils. 
With regard to the advantage of combined appeal to eye and 
ear or to eye, ear and motor memory (articulation or writing), 
there are similar discrepancies. The work of Pohlmann (Table 
108) indicates a superiority of auditory-visual presentation 
over either auditory or visual presentation, alone — a result in 
accordance with Smedlej's. Pohlmann also investigated the 
effect of these three forms of presentation upon numerals and 
nonsense syllables, with the result that for 230 Yolksschule 
girls, using 10-term series, given thrice, the percentage of accu- 
racy was, for visual-auditor^' 53 per cent., for visual 52 per 
cent., and for auditory 42 per cent., which agrees in substance, 
so far as it goes, with Smedlej-'s results for digits. This investi- 
gator found the order of superioritj^ to be : (1) auditory-visual- 
articulatory, (2) auditory-visual, (3) auditorj'-visual-hand- 
inotor, (4 and 5) visual or auditor}^ (depending on age). Illus- 
trative figures for S-s aged 1(3 years are, for the five forms just 

TABLE 108 

Dependence of Memory upon Form of Presentation (Pohlmann) 
(Percentage of Retained MemTyers, 10-Term Series, 350 Pupils, 9-lJt Years) 



NATURE OP MATERIAL 



FORM OF PRESENTATION 



PER- 
CENTAGE 
RETAINED 



Actual objects. . . . 
Actual objects. . . . 
Names of objects. 
Names of objects. 
Names of objects. 
Names of objects. 



Shown and named hy E . . 
Shown, only, successively 
Seen and heard by /S . . . . 

Heard, only, by <S 

Seen, only, by S 

Seen, heard, and pro- 
nounced hy 8 



In the upper classes, 5 becomes superior to 4. 



72% 
70 

55% 
50% 

491/3 



TEST 38 : JIEMORV FOR SERIAL I^IPRESSIONS [557] 191 

mentioned, 88.4, 86.9, 82,4 (circa), 80.0, and 66 per cent, re- 
spectively. Combined appeal is, then, most powerful, but the 
task of writing proves someAvbat distracting. Miinsterberg 
and Bigham conclude, similarly, that "a series of impressions 
offered to two senses at llie same time is much more easily re- 
produced than if given only to sight or only to hearing." Thus, 
in the case of 10 numbers the per cent, of error for numbers 
heard, seen, and both seen and heard were 14.1, 10.5, and 3.9, 
respectively'. On the other hand, Henmon concludes that visual- 
auditory-motor presentation is slightl}' inferior to the auditory 
and to the auditory-visual, but superior to the visual alone, and 
that visual-auditory presentation is slightly inferior to the 
auditory alone, while decidedly superior to the visual alone. 
In general, he found the advantage of combined presentation 
much less than that reported in earlier investigations. Kemsies 
discovered that visual-auditor}^ presentation usually gave 
poorer results than visual or auditory alone in tests with Latin 
words and nonsense words. 

The question as to whether articulation does or does not 
assist in subsequent recall is also answered diffeyently by dif- 
ferent investigators. Thus, Colin found that in memorizing 
consonants all his >S''s did best when they read aloud, less well 
when speech movements Avere suppressed, least Avell when num- 
bers or vowels Avere pronounced as distractors during the read- 
ing of the consonants. Quite similar results Avhich were 
reached by Lay in his investigation of the teaching of spelling 
have been contested by Itschner and by Fuchs and Haggen- 
miiller. Henmon also declares that articulation or vocalization 
is of little value for immediate memory. 

A closely related question concerns the possibility of deter- 
mining *S''s ideational type by scrutiny of his performance under 
different sorts of presentation. Frankl and also Segal believe 
that visual presentation gives better results Avith Aisual types, 
auditory Avith auditory types, and Meumann concludes from 
such tests that in learning, better reliance can be placed upon 
>S^'s type than upon an appeal to several sense departments. But 
the evidence is fairly clear that, as Angell says, while memory 
tests "mav certainlv be so administered as to show over AA'hat 



192 [558] ASSOCIATION, LEARNING AND MEMORY 

sensory arcs tlie best results may be achieved in assimilating 
information of various kinds ... as objective tests of imagery 
apart from introspection, tliey have few virtues and no relia- 
bility." 

(9) Successive vs. simultaneous presentation. If 15 words 
are exposed simultaneously or successively for equivalent 
lengths of time, successive presentation is easier for young, but 
simultaneous for older children, according to Hawkins. 

(10) Dependence on numlter of presentations: repetition. 
Pohlmann, Lipmann, Smedley, and others have found that hear- 

'ing a series thrice or twice, instead of once, improves its recall. 
However, Hawkins found two hearings less effective than one 
or three. It is certain that more is accomplished in the first 
hearing than in a large number of repetitions, and that the 
effect of repeated presentation is different in different S's, so 
that individual differences are more marked after many hear- 
ings than after one hearing (Smith). Smedley 's test of 38 
10-3'ear pupils, with auditory digits, gave, for the first hearing 
47 per cent., for the second 55 per cent., and for the third 59 
per cent, correct reproduction. In some of Smith's tests, 12 
presentations did not double the efiiciency attained in one 
presentation. 

(11) Dependence on rate and duration of exposure. Berg- 
strom's tests indicate that nonsense syllables exposed at the 
rate of one in 0.77 sec, with durations of exposure of .041, .082, 
.164, and .318 sec. yield practically the same results, though 
there is a slight preference for .082 sec. 

The same investigator found that, both with auditory letter 
and word series and with visual nonsense-syllables series, a 
relativelj^ slow rate of exposure (1.5 to 2 sec. per term) yielded 
more accurate results than a faster rate (one term in a fraction 
of a second). The slower rate is especially helpful in lists of 
words, and for those *S"s that try to develop associations be- 
tween the terms as they are presented. Bergstrom summarizes 
by saying: "The acquisition and retention of a series of fa- 
miliar associable words varies approximately as the logarithm 
of the interval at which the words are spoken" (6, p. 221). 

(12) Dependence on interval between presentation and repro- 



TEST 38 : MEMORY FOR SERIAL niPRESSIONS [559] 193 

duction. Relatively short intervals make, apparently, but little 
change in reproduction. Thus, Winch could discern no clear 
differences in the reproduction by school children of letter- 
squares, with or without a 25-sec. empty interval between 
presentation and reproduction. 

Binet and Miss Sharp compared immediate memory with 
'recapitulatory' memory (memory of conservation) ; they both 
noted that the word lists in immediate reproduction seemed to 
be held largely by sound (so that, for example, such errors as 
flower for floor were common), whereas lists reproduced 3 min. 
later appear to be held more often by meaning, since "the errors 
are usually additional words suggested from analogy of sense" 
(e. ff., dog suggested by cat^ cold by winter^ etc.).^** 

Attention has already been called (7, 6^ above) to the demon- 
stration by Kirkpatrick and by Calkins that the reproducibility 
of different forms of material is not equally affected by a 3-day 
interval. 

(13) Effect of distraction. Smith's use of the meTiiuu of let- 
ter squares (71), with and without the distraction of concom- 
itant activities, shows the order of efficiency under these con- 
ditions to be, from best to worst: — (1) without distraction, 
(2) with tapping to the beat of a metronome, (3) with repeti- 
tion of a vowel, and (4) with counting by 2's or 3's. Cohn, with 
the same test, found that an auditory-motor 8 was more se- 
riously disturbed by auditory-motor distractors than a visually 
minded S, and that, when such distraction is used, visual 
memory steps in to aid, provided S's constitutional make-up 
{Anlage) will at all permit (22, p. 182). 

(14) ReliahiUty. With the exception of Brown, whose co- 
efficients were only .50 to .68, investigators have found tests of 
immediate memory to yield a satisfactory degree of reliability. 
Examples are : Burt, .70 for one group of 8's, .93 for another ; 
Wyatt, .75 for one group, .76 for another ; Abelson, .74 to .81 ; 
Simpson, .73 for all ;S"s collectively. 



"The tendency of adults is away from rote memorizing in favor of a 
memory of meanings. It would, then, be interesting to see whether chil- 
dren exhibited these same tendencies that Sharp's university students 
did, or exhibited them in as marked a degree. 



194 [560 



ASSOCIATION. LEARNING AND MEMORY 



(15) Correlation icith mental ahility. Bolton, Ebbinghaus 
(Table 109) and Wissler (who found a correlation of but 0.16 
between class standing and the memory capacity of 121 Colum- 
bia freshmen) seem to be the onl}^ investigators to deny a re- 
lationship between immediate memory and intelligence. Jacobs, 
at the other extreme, asserts that there is a "notable concom- 
itance" between school standing and "span of prehension." 
The truth would appear to lie, as usual, between these extremes. 
The more careful correlational work of the past few years 
demonstrates at least a fairly good degree of correspondence 
between immediate memory and either school standing or esti- 
mated general intelligence. The several investigators who have 
found correspondence of this sort have expressed their con- 
clusions with certain restrictions or exi)lanations, as will ap- 
pear in what follows. There is some evidence, for example, to 
indicate that the correspondence between immediate memory 
and school standing is closer in the lower than in the higher 
grades, and that the corresponaence with general intelligence 
is closer with tests of delayed than of immediate recall. 

TABLE 109 

Relation of Memory for Auditory Digits and Intelligence (Ebhinghaus) 



AVERAGE NUMBER OF ERRORS PER PUPIL 



9-digit test 

10-digit test 

6-10 digit tests, collectively 




Average 
Group 



87 
147 
319 



Dull 
Group 



84 
135 
303 



With backward children Abelsou found rather low correlations, 0.18 
and 0.19, between memory for names and imputed practical intelligence 
(competence to perform errands), but higher correlations with school per- 
formances (0.20 and 0.24 with estimated ability in reading and 0.30 and 
O.o2 with estimated ability in arithmetic). 

Binet (8) contrasted 6 dull and 5 bright boys, and found that, on the 
whole, the latter surpassed the former in memory : the difference, as in 
his tests of other traits, was, however, more evident at the first, than at 
any subsequent trial. 

Brown found correlations of 0.40 to 0.59 with school marks and 0.49 to 
0.55 with estimated general intelligence. 



TEST 38 : :memory for serial impressions [5G1] 195 

Burt estimated intelligence in various ways and measured memory for 
concrete words, abstract words and nonsense syllables. The corrected 
correlations for estimated intelligence and general standing in the memory 
tests were 0.(M) for Elementary School, and 0.82 for Preparatory School 
boys. The uncorrected correlations were higher for memory for concrete 
words (0.58 and 0.84) than for memory for abstract words (0.48 and 
0.78) ; those for nonsense syllables were 0.43 and 0.75, while the amalga- 
mated memory tests correlated by 0.67 and 0.69 with examinations in 
mathematics and by 0.82 with examinations in literary subjects (in the 
Preparatory School). Burt argues from these figiu'es that the current 
examination system stresses ability to remember. Meumann's conclusion 
that bright children display a relatively superior ability in memory for 
abstract tern)s was not substantiated by Burt. 

Cohn and Dieffenbacher divided their S's into two groups — the better 
and the poorer intelleetvially. The former excelled the latter in the 
memory tests in 11 of his 14 groups; the superiority amounted to about 
10 per cent., and turned out to be less in the higher than in the lower 
school grades. 

Lapie contrasted pedagogically advanced with pedagog-ically retarded 
pupils, and concluded that these groups differed little in retentive power 
as such, but that the retarded pupils frequently reproduced the material 
in bizarre and contradictory combinations, e. g., as in speaking of "a yomig 
peasant 54 years old." 

Meumami says that the quantity of material reproduced is not in itself 
a reliable index of intelligence, yet the average resuH:s of mass experi- 
ments will always show that the more intelligent *S"s have the better 
memory efficiency. His own experiments, he declares, were so extensive 
and so carefully executed as to leave no doubt at all upon this point (51, 
p. 78). jNIore reliable, however, are the qualitative results attained from 
memory tests of the form used in his own experiments. Here, he says, 
virtually complete coincidence is found between the several indexes of 
intelligence, and between them and the school marks and the estimate of 
mental ability by teachers. Certain characteristic indexes of poor intelli- 
gence, however, such as the fusion of abstract terms into meaningless col- 
locations, may not be shown by all of the stupid children ; if they are 
shown, tliey form a reliable index of poor intelligence, while if frequent, 
they indicate not only poor intelligence, but also the lack of moral quali- 
ties, such as self-control and carefulness. Incidentally, Meumann points 
out that, in theory, we should distinguish carefully between natural ability 
and actual ability as shown in school performance ; these, nevertheless, 
tend to coincide in practise. 

Pohlmann, like Binet, dealt with contrasted groups. He concludes that, 
while in general the better pupils have better memories, there are numer- 
ous exceptions, i)articularly in that poor pupils may do as well as bright 
pupils in the memory tests. 

The two contrasted groups of adults tested by Simpson were fairly well 
separated by his tests of memory for words ; none of the poor group 
reached the median performance of the good group, and only 10 per cent, 
of the poor group were as good as the lowest 6 per cent, of the good group. 
The correlation with the estimated intelligence of the good gi-oup was 
0.93. 

Smedley declares that the "parallelism between school standing and 
memory power holds good throughout school life" (70, p. 54), and demon- 
strates this by reference to mass results distributed to show the memory 
capacity of pupils of a given age in different grades (Fig. 74), or the 



196 [562] ASSOCIATION^ learning and memor-^ 



capacity of pupils at and above grade as compared with the capacity 
of pupils below grade at different ages (Table 110). 

Winch's letter-square tests convince him that "general mental ability 
[rank iu examinations in reading, arithmetic, dictation, and English 
composition] is accompanied by 'good memory.' " "With two exceptions, 
no girl whose memory mark is relatively low has a high place In class." 
" 'Good memory,' though usually accompanied by general etficiency. is not 
invariably so." Agahi, Winch contrasted six 13-year-old girls, who stood 
between Number 1 and Number 11 iu a class of 35, with 6 girls of the 
same age, who stood 25th to 30th iu a class of 30, and found the average 
score of the bright girls to be 2(3.9, as compared with an average score 
of 19 for the dull girls (80, p. 133). 

Wessely believes that the correlation between memory and class stand- 
ing is more evident in lower than in higher grades — a view expressed 
also by Cohu and Dieffeiibacher and which, if confirmed, might be ex- 
plicable by the tendency to put a premium upon memorization iu the 
lower grades. 

Wyatt's tests with nonsense syllables gave as a correlation with intel- 
ligence 0.59, P.E. .07, for immediate and 0.74, P.E. .06, for delayed (2 
days) reproduction; his tests with letter squares gave a negligible cor- 
relation 0.18, P.E. ,11. 

(16) Memory of defectives, Galton applied Jacobs' tests to 
imbeciles, and found that most >8"s of this type failed to repeat 
more than 4 'ijgits, while several imbeciles who had remarkable 
memories for dates or for passages in books showed complete 
failure (span not over 3) in memory for digits. Johnson com- 
putes the average span for feeble-minded (selected S^s of the 
so-called 'school-case' group) at 5.3, or approximately 1.3 digits 
less than the normal span of an 8-year child. The distribution 
of ellficiency, as he found it, is shown in Table 111. Jolmson 
comments upon the fact that the difference between the memory 

TABLE 110 

Relation of Memory for Digits and School Standing {Smedley) 





NUMBER 


AUDITORY 


VISUAL 












AGE 


TESTED 


Average Standing 


AveraKe Stand- 


Average Stand- 


Average Stand- 






of Pupils At and 


ing of Pupils 


ing of Pupils At 


ing of Pupils 






Above Grade 


Below Grade 


and Above Grade 


Below Grade 


9 


99 


47.8 


39.7 


50.3 


41.9 


10 


88 


54.4 


42.7 


61.6 


46.2 


11 


91 


59.0 


48.6 


69.4 


53.3 


12 


92 


62.6 


52.2 


76.7 


66.0 


13 


110 


70.4 


64.3 


80.7 


72.3 


14 


116 


68.9 


62.6 


87.6 


74.9 


15 


94 


68.9 


62.4 


80.9 


75.0 


16 


75 


70.1 


65.8 


83.3 


78.8 


17 


56 


67.5 


62.7 


87.8 


81.2 



TEST 38 : MEMORY FOR SERIAL IMPRESSIONS [563J 197 

Grade 
m IV V VI VII VIII 























' 


i 

1 










7 

/ 

/ 

t 


1 
1 








^ 


1 
* 
* 


/ 




/ 


/ 
/ 




A 


/ 




/ 
/ 




^^ " 


J 




• 




/ 


^ 








^ 


y 








/ 


/ 










/ 













FIG. 74. MEMORY CAPACITY OF 12- YEAR-OLD PUPILS, BY GRADES 

(From Smedley). 



11)8 [o(U] ,\:>;;^OOIATR)X, LEAUMXG AM) MEMOIIY 



TABLE 111 

MoiiODj Span for Di</its in the Fechlc-Mitnled (Johnson) 



Number of digits ' 3 

Repeated correctly by_— 70 



4 

m 



5 
51 



6 
27 



7 
14 



Note — The larger groups include the smaller ones at their right. 

span of the feeble-iuiuded and of normal children seems to be 
of a smaller order than the general difference in intellectual 
ability of the two groups. 

Miss Norsworthy compared normal and feeble-minded chil- 
dren Ayith respect to memory for related and for unrelated 
words. Her standards for normal children haye already been 
reported (Table 107) : the relation of feeble-minded to normal 
efficiency is shown in Table 112. The figures are to be inter- 
preted simply : flye per cent, of the feeble-minded do as Ayell 
with the related-word test as do 50 per cent, of normal chil- 
dren, etc. 

Smedley states "that the ooys of the John Worthy School 
[incorrigibles, defectiyes. truants, etc.] are lower in memory 
power than are the pujtils of the other schools, and this dis- 
parity increases with age" (70, p. 59). 

Smith's tests with epileptics (73) shoAy that, in the auditory 
letter-span test, they are generally inferior to normal ^'s, and 
in particular, that they make nearly three times as many errors 
of insertion. 

TABLE 112 

Conipanitirc Mcinorji Capacit!/ of Normal and Fcchlc-Mindrd Children 

(Xorsicorthii) 





ABOVK 

MEDIAN 


ABOVE *BOVE 
—1 P. E. —2 P. E. 


Normal (both tests) 

Feeble-minded, in related words 

Feeble-minded, in unrelated Avords 


50 75 
5 19 
(i 18 


91 
30 
27 



TEST o8 : .ME.MOUV FOlt SERIAL 1 AU'UESSIOXS [o05j lUl) 

(17) OtliPyr correlations. Kriieger and Spearman found no 
correlation between memory for digits (serial visual exposure) 
and either ability to add, to discriminate pitch, or to discrimi- 
nate dual cutaneous impressions. 

Memory for digits and memory for letters were correlated to 
a high degree in Miss Sharp's aS"s, while memory for short sen- 
tences correlated best wath memory for letters. 

Smedley studied the relation of memory for digits and ability 
to spell, and concluded that "while, on the whole, the good 
spellers have decidedly better memory power than the bad 
spellers, yet there are individuals among the poor spellers who 
are superior in memory power, and individuals among the best 
spellers whose memory power is scarcely up to the average of 
their age. While this native power of sense-memory plays an 
imj)ortant role, it is by no means the only factor in learning to 
spell" (70, p. 61). 

Abelson found the following correlations with memory for 
words in his study of 88 backward boys and 43 backward 
girls : interpretation of pictures, boys 0.30, girls 0.3y ; 
memory for sentences, boys 0.66, girls 0.42; tapping, boys 
— 0.08, girls 0.30; memory for commissions, boys 0.38, girls 0..34. 

Brown tested several groups, mainly pupils 11 to 12 years old, 
and found the following correlations with his test of learning 
nonsense syllables: completion test, 0.28, 0.37, 0.52; memory 
for poetry, 0.38, 0.49; speed in addition, —0.13, 0, 0.27; accu- 
racy in addition, —0.23, 0, 0.31 ; drawing, 0.39. 

Burt's correlations, so far as they apply to tests mentioned 
in this work, are displayed in Table 113, Wyatt's in Table 114. 

Simpson publishes the following as estimated time correla- 
tions with memory for words for people in general : completion 
test, 0.82; hard opposites, 0.84; easy opposites, 0.65; the a-test, 
0.54: memory for passages, 0.80; adding, 0.39. 

In the half dozen rather varied tests classed together by 
Heymans and Brugmans the intercorrelations for the several 
tests ranged from — 0.34 to +0.71. The pooling together of 
the results of tests classed as tests of memory, imagination, etc., 
yielded correlations of 0.75 between memory and imagination. 



200 [566] ASSOCIATION^ LEARNING AND MEMORY 

TABLE 113 

Correlations viih Amalgamated Results of Immediate Memory Tests 

(After Burt) 



RELATED TEST 


RAW CORRELATIONS 


CORRECTED CORRELATIONS 


Elem. Sch. 


Prep. Sch. 


Elem. Sch. 


Prep. Sch. 


Spot pattern 

Mirror drawing 

Tapping _ _ _ _ 


.25 

.08 
.01 
.13 
.05 


.55 
.44 

.52 
.20 
.15 


.41 

.13 
.01 
.19 
.07 


.84 
.64 

80 


Pitcli discrim 

Lifted weights 


.27 
.22 



TABLE 114 

Correlations Between Memory Tests and Other Tests (After Wyatt) 



DELAYED MEMORY IMMEDIATE MEMORY LETTER SQUARES 



Aaalpgies 

Completion 

Word-building 

Part-wholes 

Fables 

Immediate mem 

Letter squares 




.28 
.03 
.00 
.09 
.31 
.25 



TABLE 115 

Recall of Different Members of a 7-Term Scries (Binet and Henri) 



Place in series 

Times recalled correctly— 


1 
143 


2 
139 


3 
115 


4 
111 


5 
122 


6 
117 


7 
140 



0.73 between memory and concentration, 0.54 between memory 
and intellect. 

(18) Dependence on race. From studies conducted in several 
Missouri cities Pyle (61a) concludes that ''in rote memory the 
negroes have a much better memory for concrete than for 
abstract words, but are greatly inferior to whites in both."' 



TEST 38 : MEMORY FOR SERIAL IMPRESSIONS [567] 201 

(19) Miscellaneous ohservations. (a) Reproduction in cor- 
rect order is more difficult tlian mere reproduction; reproduc- 
tion is more difficult than recognition. 

(&) The first and the last terms of a series are more liable to 
be recalled than are the middle terms (Table 115) . 

(c) In word tests, certain terms are often found to have a 
special reproducibility, evidently by attracting special attention 
in some way. Thus, Binet and Henri found that the word 
pupitre (desk), though in the middle of a series, and hence un- 
favorably placed, was recalled in an unusually large number of 
cases. 

{d) Errors of omission are more common than errors of in- 
sertion or errors of substitution — in word tests with school 
children, 4 times more frequent (Binet and Henri). 

(e) Wissler calls attention to the perseverative tendency 
mentioned by Meumann and others : this is evinced by the intro- 
duction, in the recall of a given series, of impressions that had 
been used in an earlier series. Wissler found this type of 
error especially common in college seniors and mature *S*'s when 
trying the digit test. Meumann, it will be remembered, consid- 
ered perseveration in the word test as an index of poor intelli- 
gence — when the >8"s knew that no series was like a previous one. 

REFERENCES 

(1) Edwina E. Abbott, Memory consciousness in ortliography. Ps 
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(2) A. R. Abelson, The measurement of mental ability of 'backward' 
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(2a) E. J. Anderson, Standardization of the Heilbronner, rote mem- 
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(3) J. R. Angell, Methods for the determination of mental imagery, 
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(5) J. A. Bergstrom, Experiments on physiological memory by means 
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202 [568] ASSOCIATION^ learning and memory 

(7) A. Bernstein and T. Bogdauoff, Experimeute iiber das Verhalten 
der Merkfahigkeit bei Schulkindern. Beitrdge s. Psych, cl. Aussage, 2: 
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(8) A. Binet, Attention et adaptation. AnPs, G: 1899 (1900), 248-404. 

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(14) W. Brown, Some experimental results in tbe correlation of 
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(17) C. Burt, Experimental tests of bigber mental processes. JEPd, 
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(18) C. Burt and R. C. Moore, Tbe mental differences between the 
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(19) Mary W. Calkins, A study of immediate and of delayed recall 
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(20) D. F. Carpenter, Mental age tests. JEdPs, 4: 1913, 538-544. 

(21) W. G. Chambers, Individual differences in grammar grade cbil- 
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(22) J. Cohn, Experimentelle Untersucbimgen liber das Zusammen- 
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(23) J. Cohn und J. Dieffenbacher, Untersucbungen iiber Gescb- 
lechts-. Alters- und Begabungs-Unterscbiede bei Scbiilern. Beihefte zur 
ZAngPs, No. 2, 1911. Pp. 213. 

(24) II. Ebbingbaus, {a) Ueber eine neue Metbode zur Priifung 
geistiger Fablgkeiten in ibrer Anwendung bei Schulkindern. ZPs, 13 : 
1897, 401-457. (&) For review of tbe literature, see Orundzuge der Psy- 
chologie, I, 2d ed., 1905, 633-707. 

(25) E. Ebert and E. Meumann, Ueber einige Grundfragen der 
Psych, der Uebungspbanomene im Bereiche des Gedacbtnisses. ArGsPs, 
4: 1905, 1-232. 

(26) P. Ephrussi, Experimentelle Beitrage zur Lehre vom Gedachtnis. 
Berlin, 1900. Pp. 191. 

(27) J. Finzi, Zur Untersuchung der AufCassungsfilhigkeit und 
Merkfilbigkeit. PsArl, 3 : 1900, 289-384. 

(28) E. Frank 1, Ueber Vorstellungselemente und Aufmerksamkeit. 
Augsburg, 1905. 

(29) H. Fuchs und A. Haggenmiiller, Studien und Yersucbe iiber die 
Erlernung der Ortbographie. SmAbPdPs, 2 : 1898. 

(30) F. Galton, Supplementary notes on 'prehension' in idiots. Mind, 
12 : 1887, 79-82. 

(31) Eleanor Gamble, A study in memorizing various materials by 
tbe reconstruction method. PsMon, No. 43, Sept., 1909. Pp. 210. 

(32) C. J. Hawkins, Experiments on memory types. PsR, 4: 1897, 
289-294. 



TEST 38: iMEMOKV FOR SERIAL IMPRESSIONS [569] 203 

(33) V. Henmon, The relation between mode of presentation and 
retention. PsR, 19: 1912, 79-9G. 

(34) V. Henri, i^ducation de la memoire. AnPs, 8: 1901 (1902), 1-48. 

(35) G. Heymans und H. Brugmans, Intelligenzpriifungen mit 
Studierenden. ZAngPa, 7 : 1913, 317-331. 

(36) H. Itscnner, Lay's Reelitschrieb-Keform. JcUirhuch des Vereins 
f. wissensch. FddaffogiJc, 32 : 1900. 

(37) J. Jacobs, Experiments on 'prehension.' Mind, 12: 1887, 75-9. 
(3»j G. E. Johnson, conTriDUtion to the psychology and pedagogy of 

feeble-minded children. PdSc, 3: 1895, 245-301, especially 268-273. 

(39) W. F. Jones, An experimental-critical study of the problem of 
grading and promotion. PsCl, 5 : 1911, 63-96, 99-120, especially 102-113. 

(40) A. Jost, Die Associationsfestigkelt in ihrer Abhangigkeit von 
der Verteilung der Wiederholungen. ZPs, 14 : 1897, 436-472. 

(41) F. Kemsies, Gedachtnisuntersuchungen an Schiilern. ZPdPs, 2: 
1900, 21-30, 84-95. 

(42) E. A. Kirkpatrick, An experimental study of memory. PsR, 1: 
1894, 602-9. 

(43) Emma Kohnky, Preliminary study of the effect of dental treat- 
ment upon the physical and mental efficiency of school children. JEdPs, 
4: 1913, 569-578. 

(44) E. Kraepelin, Der psychologische Versuch in der Psychiatrie. 
PsArb, 1: 1896, 1-91, especially pp. 73 ff. (See also G. Aschaffenburg, 
ibid., 209-299.) 

(45) F. Krueger and C. Spearman, Die Korrelation zwischen 
verschiedenen geistigen Leistungsfahigkeiten. ZPs, 44 : 1907, 50-114. 

(46) F. Kuhlmann, A new memory apparatus. PsR, 19 : 1912, 74-78. 

(47) P. Lapie, Avances et retardes. AnPs, 18: 1912, 233-270, espe- 
cially 238-240. 

(48) J. Larguier des Bancels, Sur les methodes de memorisation. 
AnPs, 8: 1901 (1902), 185-204. 

r49) W. A. Lay, Experimentelle Didaktik. 3d ed., 1910, especially 
297-305, 351-370. 

(50) M. Lobsien, Experimentelle Untersuchungen iiber die Gedacht- 
nissentwickelung bei Schulkindern. ZPs, 27 : 1901, 34-76. 

(51) E. Meumann, Intelligenzpriifungen an Kindern der Volksschule. 
EPd, 1 : 1905, 35-101. 

(52) E. Meumann, The psychology of learning. Eng. transl. New 
York, 1913. Pp. 393. 

(53) W. McDougall, On a new method for the study of concurrent 
mental operations and of mental fatigue. BrJPs, 1 : 1905, 435-445, espe- 
cially 436 f. 

(54) G. Miiller and A. Pilzecker, Experimentelle Beitrlige zur Lehre 
vom Gedflchtniss. ZPs, ErgUnzungshand, 1 : 1900, 1-288. 

(55) G. Miiller and F. Schumann, Experimentelle Beitriige zur Unter- 
suchung des Gediichtnisses. ZPs, 6 : 1894, 81-190. 257-339. 

(56) H. Miinsterberg and J. Bigham, Memory. PsR. 1: 1904, 34-38. 

(57) A. Netschajeff, Experimentelle Untersuchungen iiber die Gediicht- 
nissentwickelung bei Schulkindern. ZPs, 24: 1900, 321-351. 

(58) Naomi Norsworthy, The psychology of mentally deficient chil- 
dren (Columbia University thesis). New York. 1906. P]x 111. 

(59) M. Offner, Das Gediichtnis, Berlin. 1909. Pp. 238. 

(60) A. Pohlmann, Experimentelle Beitrage zur Lehre vom Gedtlcht- 
niss. Berlin, 1906. Pp. 191. (For full review, see ZPs, 44: 1907, 134- 
140.) 

(61) W. H. Pyle. The examination of school children. New York, 
1913. Pp. 70, especially 14-17. 



201 1570] ASir^OOlATION, IJOAUNING AND MIOMOUY 

((Mil) W. H. r.vle, The niiiul of (lio iici^ro cliild. *s'(7(fK>/ diid Society, 
1 : l!)ir>, 357-300. 

((>-) J. O. Qiianlz, ProbliMiis in llic ijsycliold^y of i-cadiii.^. I'sMoii, 
2: 1S!»7 (No. 5). Pj). fil- 

(().■>) F. Renthor. Uoitriiiio yaw (UMliicliliiisrdrsrlnin.ij;. I'sijch. Sliidicn, 
1 : :l!)OCi, 4-101. 

(()4) 0. Uittcr, Eniiii(luii.i,'sim>ssiui,wi\. //'.s, 24: 1!)00, 401-444. 

((if)) M. C. Sclmyton, Siir los iiirlliodos do iiionsurnlion do la falij^juo 
dos oooliors. Arl>f<if), 4: 1!K)4, IKMl'S. 

(OCt) J. t^osal, IJobor don l{(>produk(ioiis(y])ns uud das Ro] ii'odukzioron 
von Vorstollunson. .Irf/.v/'.v. 12: 1!K)S, 124-285. 

(07) S((41a E. Sliavp, Individual psyoliology : a study in psyoliolo^ioal 
iHotliod. AiihU\^. 10: IS!)!), ;52!)-;5!)l. 

(.(IS) R. R. Simpson, Corrolations of niontal abililios. Coliiiiihia 
ConEd, No. 53. New York. 1!)12. l>p. 122. 

((•!)) W. G. Sleight, Memory traininjj;; is it general or speeilie? JEPd, 
1: 1!)11, 51-54. 

(70) F. Smedloy, Rejiort dopt. oliild-study and pedagogic investiga- 
tion (Clneago Public Schools). No. 3, l!)(.K)-l!)01, also in RcpCoinEd, 
1902, i., 1115-113S. 

(71) W. il. Smith, The relation of attention to memory. Mind, n. s. 
4: lSi)5, 47-73. 

(72) W. G. Smith, The place of I'l^pelition in memory. PsR, 3: 
1S!)(!, 21-31. 

(73) W. G. Smith, A comparison of some mental and ])liysical tests 
in their relation to ei)ileptic and to normal sub.iects. BrJl's, 1: 1905, 
240-2(10. 

(74) C'arrie R. Squire, Graded mental tests. JEdi's, 3: 1912, 303-380, 
430-443, 493-500, especially 377-380. 

(75) 1). Starch, Transfer of training in arithmetical operations. 
JEdPs, 2: 1911, 300-310. 

(70) A. V. Sybel, Ueber das Zusanunenwirken verschiedener Sinnes- 
gebiete bei Ged'iichtnisleistungen. /jPs, 53: 1909, 258-353. (For sum- 
mary see P^lhi, 7: 1910, 3S(i-7.) 

(77) E. B. Titcheuer, Experimental psychology. Vol. I., New York, 
1901. 

(78) J. J. van Biervliet, L'education do la mCnuoire a I'ecole. RPliF, 
57 : 19(.)4, 509-580. 

(79) R. AYessely, Zur Frage des Auswendiglernens. IsH'HC Jahr- 
hiiclicr f. PiidOjjonih; 8: 1!X)5, 297-30!), 373-380. 

(80) W. 11. Winch, Innnediate nuMuory in school children. ]{r,IPs, 1: 
1!XM. 127-134, and 2 : 1900, 52-57. 

(81) W. II. Winch, (a) The transfer of improvement in memory in 
school children. BrJPs, 2: 1908, 284-293. (h) Same, continued, 3: 1910, 
380-405. 

(82) W. II. Winch, Mental fatigue in day-school children as measured 
by immediate memory. JEdPs, 3: 1912, 18-28, 74-82. 

(S3) C. Wissler, The correlation of mental and physical tests. Ps 
Mon, 3: 1901, No. 0. 1*1). 02. 

(84) S. AVyatt, The quantitative investigation of higher mental 
processes. BrJPs, 0: 1913, 109-133. 

(85) C. S. Yoakum, An experimental study of fatigue. PsMon, 11: 
1909, No. 46. Pp. 131. 



TKST 30 : MEMORY FOIt IDEAS l^*"^^] 205 

TEST .39 

Memory for ideas: 'Loj^ical' memory. — This li^sl <]ifl'('js from 
llic \>\-(t(('(l\i\ij; Icsis of iiH'iiiory in 1wo respectH : in llie first 
jjjacc, <onn('cl<;d, ni(';ininj;fiil nuifriri})] is ns('<J instead of u swios 
of disparute impn'ssions; in llic s<'<-ond }>lac(*, llio. rojirodiiction 
that is demanded is pi-iniaiily a repi-odiiclion of ideas, not an 
exact, verbatim rei)rodn<;Jion of tlie original j>rosentation. In 
other words, this test, to use current i>hraseoJo}^y, measures 
'logical,' or 'substance' memory, instead of 'rote,' or 'mechanical' 
nicmoi-y. 

While, in |)i-iiKi|)l<;, tlio attituflfi takfn by >S' toward tlie tosi: of inomory 
for ideas is distiiielly different, fi'oiii that taken toward tlie test of mem- 
ory foi- discrete iinitressions, yet, in pi-aetiso, it is not always possible to 
diffei-eiitiate thes<; attifndes in the t(!Sts as aetwally administered. 'J'hiis, 
liinel, and IIeni-i, and aft(;r the'in, Miss Sharp, eondueted tests of "ni(;mory 
for s<,'nt(;ne(;s." In tli(;s<; tests, the sentences ranged from shoi-t to long, 
and fr(jm easy to diflieult. A short, easy sentence, e. (j., a sentence of 
11 woi'ds, is almost invariably int(;rpreted by >S' as a straightforward test 
of verbal memory, and the i-epi-oduction is at bottom a recall in vei'bal 
(mainly auditory verbal) terms. On the other hand, a long, diflieult 
sentence, c. (j., a sentence; of 80 words, when heard or read but once, 
must be reproduced in substance, n<jt verbatim, and the I'ecall, for most 
>S"s at least, is a recall by meaning, a i-ejn'oduction of the 'gist' of the 
mat(!rial j)i"esented. 

It is (.'vidently Ix.-ttei- to keep separate these two different forms of 
memory test, witli their two correspondingly different attitudes. The 
mat(!rial of the present tests is, accordingly, sufficiently lengthy to pre- 
clude verbatim recall. Memory for sentences of progressive length has 
been treated in Test 38. 

The purposes of tlie test are similar to those of other memory 
tests, viz. : to determine individual differences in memory effi- 
ciency as related to sex, age, training, native ability, etc. As 
in those tests, too, the effect of different methods of pre«enting 
the material, or of different forms of material, may be studied, 
and immediate may be compared with deferred reproduction. 
The results of the test may also be correlated with the results 
of other tests, jmrticularly with the tests of rote memory just 
described. Among others, the following examples are char- 
acteristic of these vai-ious uses of the logical memory test. In 
the Binet-Simon series of 1008 the Story of the Fire was intro- 
duced at the 8th and 9th years. Wissler used a logical memory 



20G [572] ASSOCIATION, learning and memory 

test in bis series applied toColuinbia tieslinien, Termau in his 
comparative study of bright and dull boys, Winch in the inves- 
tigation of fatigue and of transfer of training, Simpson in his 
comparison of competent and incompetent adults. The Marble 
Statue test, which the author derived from Shaw's study of 
memory in school children, has been applied by Pyle to several 
hundred children and adults for the purpose of establishing 
age and sex norms. Aall used an anecdote, much longer than 
those here prescribed, as the material for an interesting study 
of sex and individual difference, particularly as affected by 
immediate or deferred reproduction. Perhaps the most elabo- 
rate investigation of "memory for connected trains of thought" 
is, however, that of Henderson, who administered a series of 
tests to over 200 iS^'s, ranging from 10-year-old Sth-grade chil- 
dren to adult students in the university. Henderson's work 
forms the basis of the tests which are here prescribed, with some 
modifications suggested by the use of the test by the author for 
several years as a class exercise. 

Materials. — Watch. Three printed forms — The Marble 
Statue, Cicero, and The Dutch Homestead. 

The first of these is taken from the appendix of Shaw's article, and 
was apparently used by him for subsidiary tests. The second and third 
are Nos. 2 and 4 of the five texts used by Henderson. If E wishes to 
extend the test by using more difficult material, he may employ Hender- 
son's No. 5 — a selection entitled "The Stages in the Development of 
Human Theory," from Comte's Positive PMlosopliy. If the Marble 
Statue proves too difficult or imiuteresting for very young S's, E may 
employ to advantage the text proposed by Binet and Simon (Wallin's 
arrangement) or the story of Mr. Lincoln and the Pig (from Clyde and 
Wallace, Through the Year, Book 2, Silver, Burdett & Co.). 

Three Houses Burned 

(From the 1908 Binet-Simon tests, revised by Wallin) 
(51 words, 20 ideas) 

New York, ] September 5th. | A fire | last night | burned | 
three houses | in Water Street. | It took some time | to put it 
out. [ The loss j was fifty thousand dollars, | and seventeen 
families j lost their homes, j In saving | a girl | who was 
asleep [ in a bed, | a fireman [ was burned | on the hands, j 



TEST 30 : :\IKM<)RV FOK IDIOAS l^^'^'^] ^07 

How Mn. Lincoln Hklped the 1*^ 
(131 Avords, 42 ideas) 

*'One day | Mr. Lincoln | was out riding. | As he passed 
along the road, | he saw a pig | sinking | into a mud-hole. ! 
Poor I piggy w^ould climb | part way | up the slippery | bank, j 
then down he would fall again. | 

'I suppose I should get down | and help | that pig,' | thought 
Mr. Lincoln. 'But I have on ray new suit, | and it will be quite 
spoiled if I do so. | I think I'll let him get out | the best way 
he can.' | 

He rode on. | When nearly | two | miles away, | he turned j 
and came back. ] Not minding the new | clothes, | he stooped, | 
and taking piggy in his arms, | he dragged him | out | of the 
mud. I 

The new | suit | was quite | spoiled, | but Mr. Lincoln | said j 
he had taken a pain | out of his mind." | 

Method. — Provide S with paper and pencil. Explain the 
nature of the test, as follows : ''I am going to read you some- 
thing to see how well you can remember it afterward. You 
must pay careful attention, as I shall read it but once. As 
soon as I have finished, take your pencil and write as 
much of the storj^ as you can remember. If j'^ou can remember 
it in just the words you heard, use those words, but if j'ou can't 
do that, tell in your own words, as well as jon can, what it was 
that I read to you." 

Read the passage, including the title, with most careful 
enunciation, and with proper attention to expression. The rate 
of reading should be somewhat slower than in ordinary read- 
ing — say a full minute for the Cicero test. Allow 8 ample 
time for writing, then ask him to underline each word in his 
reproduction that he feels sure is exactly the same as the 
original passage.^ 



^This test lends itself easily to the group method. The usual precau- 
tions should be taken to avoid disturbance and communication. E may 
save himself much labor by asking each <§ to count the total number of 
words he has written, then the total number of words he has underlined. 
With mature S's, E may also reread very slowly the original text, and 
let each *S' check up the total number of ideas correctly reproduced, i. e., 
represented, whether verbatim or by equivalent phrases, in his reproduc- 
tion. The division of each text into its constituent 'ideas' is indicated 
below. 



208 [574] ASSOCIATION, learning and memory 

Variations op Metpiod. — (1) Supply l^ with tlie printed text. 
Inform him that he is to have 2 min. to read the passage. As- 
sure him that tliis time is ample to read it over carefully more 
than once. Direct him to read the passage straight through 
twice, and then use any time that remains in studying it as he 
wishes. 

(2) Defer the reproduction to any desired time after the 
reading, e. g., 10 min., 24 hours, 1 week, 4 weeks. Or require 
an immediate reproduction, followed later, at one or more of 
the intervals just suggested, by a second or by a third reproduc- 
tion.- Conduct these deferred trials in the same manner, as 
far as directions to underline, etc., are concerned, as in the 
first trial. 

Treatment of Data. — The simplest plan for scoring the data 
of this test is that used by Terman and by Wissler, who merely 
graded the papers on a scale of 5 (or of 10) for a perfect re- 
Ijroduction — perfect in the sense of a reproduction of all the 
ideas of the original text, whether in terms identical with, or 
merely equivalent to, the original. 

For ordinary purposes, the author has found it serviceable to 
score the papers for the following points: (1) number of words 
written, (2) number of words underlined, (3) percentage of 
underlined words that are correcth- underlined, (4) number of 
ideas ('details' in Henderson's terminology) that have been 
reproduced, whether exactly or in equivalent phrases. To 
these may be added, if desired, (5) number of ideas wrongly 
inserted. If but a single score is to be made, the fourth is 
obviously the one to be used, since the task assigned to /? is to 
give as many as possible of the ideas of the text.^ 

The second and subsequent reproductions are scored in the 
same manner as the first. Retention is then measured, follow- 



-It is better, on the whole, to give no intimation of tlie intent to demand 
a second reprodnction. Some /S"s may compare notes after the first 
reproduction, but if the subsequent trial is announced beforehand, 
coupled, as it ought to be, with the request not to think of the test in 
the interim, the request is more apt to work as a counter-suggestion, so 
that manj^ S^'s will test their recall of the passage, and otherwise furbish 
up the memories during the interval. 

^Consult Aall, Sharp or Henderson for more elaborate methods of treat- 
ing data, particularly for devices for qualitative analysis. 



TEST 39 : MEMORY FOR IDEAS [5'^5] 209 

ing Shaw and Henderson, by computing the percentage of loss 
between these and the first reproduction. Occasional cases of 
improvement in the later reproductions are rated as a negative 
loss. 

To ascertain the 'idea-score,' *S"s reproduction must be com- 
pared, step by step, with the standard divisions of the original 
text into ideas.* 

The Marble Statue 
(166 words, 67 ideas) 

A young | man | worked j years j to carve | a white | marble | 
statue I of a beautiful | girl. | She grew prettier j day bj' day. j 
He began to love the statue | so well that | one day | he said to 
it : I ''I would give | everything | in the world | if jou would be 
alive I and be my wife." | Just then | the clock struck | twelve, | 
and the cold | stone began to grow Avarm, | the cheeks red, | the 
hair brown, j the lips to move. | She stepped down, | and he 
had his wish. | They lived happily | together | for years, | and 
three | beautiful | children were born. | One day | he was very 
tired, | and grew j so angry, j without cause, | that he struck her. [ 
She wept, | kissed | each child | and her husband, [ stepped 
back I upon the pedestal, | and slowly | grew cold, | pale | and 
stiff, I closed her ejes, \ and when the clock | struck | midnight,] 
she was a statue | of pure | white | marble | as she had been | 
years before, | and could not hear j the sobs | of her husband | 
and children. 

Cicero 
(12.5 words, 64 ideas) 

"Cicero, | the greatest j of the Roman | orators, | was born j 
at Arpinum, | an obscure | country | town. | His family | was 
of the middle class [ only, | and without wealth, | yet he rose [ 
rapidly | through the ranks | of Roman | official service | until 
at the age I of fortj'-six I he became I consul. I In oratory I he 



■"The scoring for ideas for these tliree passages is talcen. witli a few 
minor cLianges, from Sliaw and from Henderson. For a division of the 
second and tliird texts into topics and snb-topics as well as into ideas, 
the reader may consult Henderson (G, pp. 29-30). 



210 [570] ASSOCIATION, r.I'LVRNIXO AXI) MEMORY 

is I by universal couseul | placed side by side | with Demos- 
thenes, I or at least | close after him. | He surpassed | the 
great | Attic | orator | in brilliancy | and variety, j but lacked j 
his moral | earnestness | and consequent | impressiveness. | 
He could be | humorous, | sarcastic, | pathetic, | ironical, | 
satirical, | and when he was malignant | his mouth was | most } 
foul j and his bite j most | venomous. | His delivery | was im- 
passioned j and fiery, | his voice | strong, | full, | and sweet, | 
his figure | tall, | graceful, | and impressive." 

The Dutch Homestead 
(180 words, 94 ideas) 



"It was I one \ of those spacious | farm- | houses, | with high- j 
ridged, | but lowly | sloping | roofs, | built | in the style j 
handed down from | the first j Dutch | settlers, | the low | pro- 
jecting I eaves j forming a piazza | along the front | capable | 
of being closed up | in bad weather, | Under this | were hung j 
flails, I harness, | various | utensils | of husbandry, j and nets j 
for fishing | in the neighboring | river. | Benches | were built ] 
along the side | for summer use ; | and a great | spinning wheel I 
at one end, | and a churn | at the other, | showed | the various | 
uses I to which this | important | porch | might be devoted, | 
From this piazza | one might enter | the hall, | Avhich formed { 
the center | of the mansion | and the usual | place of residence. | 
Here | rows | of resplendent | pewter | ranged | on a long | 
dresser | dazzled | his e^es. | In one corner j stood a huge | 
bag I of wool, I ready | to be spun ; | in another | a quantity | of 
linsey-woolsey, j just I from the loom ; | ears | of Indian | corn | 
and strings | of dried | apples | and peaches | hung | in gay | 
festoons | along the walls, | mingled j with the gaud | of red | 
peppers." 

Results. — (1) Norms. Performance with the Marble Statue 
selection has been investigated by Pyle (group method, written 
reproduction) with the results shown in Table IIG. The au- 
thor's results for college students with the Dutch Homestead 
selection are shown in Table 111, while some idea of the dis- 



TEST ')0 : ME.MOUV FOR IDEAS 



[577] 211 



ti'ibutioii of [lerfoniiaiice for the Cicero selection wilh collejie 
students (mostly Sophomores) is given by Table 118. In all 
of these tables, and particularly in those referring to college 
students, evidence is given to show the unexpectedly large in- 
dividual variation in memory for ideas that prevails even 
within a group of aS"s of apparently similar attainments. 



TABLE 116 

Marble Statue Test, Scores by Age and Sex (Pyle) 



SEX 




8 


9 


10 


11 


12 


13 


14 


15 


16 


17 


18 


ADULT 




Cases 


102 


148 142 149 ].% 


in3 


129 


89 


1 

60 45 l32 


65 


Male 


AA/er 


24.3 


28.7 30.0 32.9 35.1 


36.8 


36.136.5 


34.4 34.6;36.9 


38.3 




A. D 


6.7 


9.1 6.7 5.6 7.4 


6.3 


7.0 


6.7 


5.6 8.7 


6.0 


7.0 




Cases 


89 


158 138 156 191 


164 


146 


99 


94 81 


48 


86 


Female _ 


Aver 


28.5 


31.0 33.5 36.4 38.1 


38.5 


39.0 39.1 


37.3 36.6 37.8 


40.1 




A. D 


11.3 


9.4! 6.8 7.7 7.2 

1 i 


7.1 


7.5 6.3 


5.1 6.9: 4.4 


5.9 



TABLE 117 

Dutch Homestead Test. Words Written and Underlined {Whipple) 



FIRST TRIAL, NO INTERVAL 



Total Words 



Words Under- 
lined 



SECOND TRIAL, 24 HOURS 
LATER 



Total Words 



Words Under- 
lined 



Average, 9 men 

Average, 22 women- 
Maximal records 

Minimal records 



80.4 

95.5 

127.0 

45.0 



48.0 

38.8 

102.0 

4.0 



83.0 

99.6 

138.0 

52.0 



38.4 

34.1 

66.0 

9.0 



TABLE 118 
Cicero Test. Distribution of 36 College Students (Whipple) 



2d six 3d SIX 



4th SIX 5TH SIX WORST SIX 



Words written. 
Correct ideas _. 



115-96 

46-37 



95-88 
36-34 



84-75 
32-28 



74-66 
28-25 



65-60 
25-21 



56-25 
20-7 



212 [578] ASSOCIATION, learning and memory 

(2) Dependence on age. Binet and Simon put the reproduc- 
tion of 2 items from the Storj^ of the Fire as standard for S 
3'ears, 6 items as standard for 9 years. The results reported 
by Vos, who read to boys and girls 9 to 14 years old a story 
containing 40 'ideas' and called for reproductions 3 days later, 
show rather unusual variations from year to year, despite the 
fact that some 800 >S"s are represented : report is declared to be 
good at 9, best at 10, thence deteriorating decidedly to 13, but 
improving at 14 years. The elaborate studies of Shaw and of 
Henderson are also somewhat difficult to interpret. It appears 
evident, however, that a distinction must be made between 
efficienc}' in the first reproduction and efficiencj^ in subsequent 
reproductions. If the first be termed learning capacitj', and the 
second retentive capacity, and if the latter be measured in 
terms of the proportion of the first reproduction that is retained 
in the second (or later) reproduction, then adults may be 
shown to surpass children in learning capacity, but not in 
retentive capacity. 

Thus, in Shaw's rather difficult 324-word story, the learning 
capacity of boys increased, from the 3d to the 9th grade, from 
17 to 42 per cent., that of girls from 18 to 43 per cent. High- 
school boys averaged only 40 per cent., high-school girls about 
47 per cent. Shaw's university students did no better, while 
Henderson's summer session students were inferior to his 15 
and 16-year-old school children. In short, then, logical, like 
rote memory appears, when measured by the first reproduction, 
to be at its best near puberty. This conclusion agrees entirely 
with the averages secured by Pyle for children 8 to 18 years 
old and for adults (Table 116). His boys reached their maxi- 
mal abilit}' at 13, his girls at 12 years. 

TABLE 119 

Average Percentage of Loss in Third Reproduction {After Ji Weeks) 

{Henderson) 



AGE 


ADULTS 


16 


15 


14 


13 


12 


11 


10 


Percentage of loss 


14 


8 


13 


15 


14 12 


10 


10 



TEST 39 : MEMOllY FOU IDEA« [579] 213 

Turning to the later reproductions, Shaw and Henderson 
(Table 119) agree that younger /S"s have as good retentive 
capacity as do adults. 

(3) ISex differences in this test, as in the rote-memory test, 
are in favor of girls. The difference is indicated clearly in the 
author's data for college students (Table 117), and similar 
differences are reported by ShaAv, who found the growth of 
memory for ideas to be faster in girls than in boys, and the 
average performance of girls to be some 4 per cent, better than 
that of boys. Wissler's records for Columbia freshmen show 
an average of 44.5 per cent., P.E. 11.1, for men, and 48.2 per 
cent., P.E. 13.2, for women. Pyle's averages reveal the supe- 
riority of girls at every age from 8 to maturity. Schramm's 
comparison of 16 men and 16 women (students at Freiburg 
University) shows a slight superiority for the women, though 
the differences do not exceed their probable error. The only 
exceptions to this trend in favor of superiority of females seem 
to appear in the work of Vos and of Aall. The latter states 
that the reproductions of women are usually fuller, but those 
of men are more compact, 'meatier,' and betray greater plastic 
power, greater originality in formulation. 

(4) Dependence on time-interval. The insertion of a time- 
interval between presentation and reproduction has much less 
effect upon memory for ideas than upon memory for discrete 
impressions. Table 117 shows that, if a second reproduction 
is called for one day after the first, the average 8 actually 
writes more words. The words in the later reproduction are, 
however, less exact copies of the original text, and there is a 
tendency to insert extraneous material, so that fewer words 
are underlined, and there is a slight net reduction in the num- 
ber of ideas reproduced. In the author's tests, this reduction 
was but 3 per cent, at the end of one week. Table 119 shows 
that an interval of 4 weeks jjroduces a loss of but 8 to 15 per 
cent. 

Similar conclusions are reached by Aall, who compared the 
reproductions of a lengthy story directly after hearing it and 48 
hours later. The latter reports were on the whole poorer — more 
omissions and more 'falsification.' They are shown to 'lean' 



214 [580] ASSOCIATION^ LEARNING AND MEMORY 

strongly on the first reports, often to become more verbose and 
less precise, and sometimes matters that were correctly left 
rather vague in the first report become erroneously 'logicized' 
into explicit and particularized statements, which are actually 
possible, but incorrect as reports. On the other hand, as Aall 
points out, there exists a sort of 'after-memory' such that cer- 
tain details which are forgotten or at least unmentioned in the 
immediate reproduction come to light correctly in the delayed 
one. The influence of time-interval also appears to oper- 
ate differently on different forms of material; for instance, 
names of places are lost sooner than memories of objects. 

It is a matter of special interest to note that the relative 
standing of ^'s remains practically the same in tests conducted 
with immediate, and with deferred recall. Similarly, those 
who memorize a passage of a given length in quick time are not 
found to be at a disadvantage in subsequent recall (see Ogden 
and Pyle, 12), though the individual differences are usually 
found to be less in subsequent recall than in original speed of 
learning. It follows that, so far as this test goes at least, the 
popular notion ''easy come, easy go" is not borne out by expe- 
rimental evidence. Henderson found that this correlation, 
between learning capacity and retentive capacity was brought 
out better in scoring for ideas than in scoring for words. 

(5) De]3enclence on method of presentation. When a single 
hearing is compared with reading done by ^"(3 min.), the for- 
mer is found to be nearly' as good as the latter for immediate 
reproduction, but the latter to be much more effective than the 
former for deferred reproduction. 

(6) Dependence on practise. Baade, who scored the reports 
made by 196 girls, aged 12-13 years, upon what was said by an 
instructor in the course of a series of demonstrations in physics, 
found that under those conditions there was no demonstrable 
improvement in their work, either from the succession of the 
three sets of demonstrations or from the repetition of the 
demonstrations. Nevertheless, the work of other investigators 
gives little doubt that practise will improve memory for ideas, 
as it will improve nearly every form of psychophj'Sical activity. 
Special training thus accounts, in all probability, for the high 



TEST 39 : MEMORY FOR IDEAS [581] 215 

scores (52 as over against 40 to 47 per ceut.) reached by the 
pupils of Miss Aiken^s schooP in comparison with the work of 
Worcester high-school children. 

Winch (21) has investigated the possibility of transfer of 
practise, and concludes that '^improvement through practise 
in rote memory for things with and without meaning is fol- 
lowed by improvement in substance for stories." He argues 
that this transfer may take place despite the circumstance that 
correlations between rote and substance memory are some- 
times, as in his own work, of a low or even doubtful character. 
Winch (23) has also investigated the transfer of practise in 
substance memorj' to efficiency in productive imagination. He 
concludes that ''children practised in substance memory for 
stories become thereby more pi'oflcient in the invention of 
stories. The improvement is not due to the insertion of parts 
of the content of the memorized stories within the invented 
stories, but to some community of function less atomistic." 
An exception appeared, however, in portions of his experi- 
mental work, which leads him to add that "children practised 
in substance memory up to the fatigue point, which is taken 
here to mean the point at which consecutive exercises cease to 
produce improvement, are thereby prejudicially affected so 
far as their power to invent stories is concerned." These 
'fatigue-effects,' he says, "appear to be temporary, whilst prac- 
tise effect (improvement through practise) appears to have 
considerable duration." 

(7) Dependence on fatigue. Although it is generally con- 
ceded that one of the commoner symptoms of mental fatigue 
is slowness or uncertainty of recall of ideas, no one but Winch 
(22) appears to have used the logical memory test in this con- 
nection. Winch's test was limited to a group of boys who were 
studying at an evening school. They were given 10 minutes to 
memorize the substance of passages of some 150 words and 
tested by the method of equivalent groups at 9 and at about 
9.30 P. M., with the result that some 28 per cent, of difference 
was revealed. Since tests in day schools had shown prac- 



°For an account of the special training given to Miss Aiken's pupils, 
see Test 25 and references thereto. 



2i6 [582] ASSOCIATION, LEARNING AND MEMORY 

tically no difference betAveen children working at noon and at 
4.30 P. M., Winch argues that children who take evening school 
Avork after a day's Avork at various occupations exhibit a very 
rapid and pronounced susceptibility to mental fatigue. 

(8) Dependence on length of text. The number of words re- 
produced after one hearing increases, though not in direct pro- 
portion, with the length of the passage heard (Binet and 
Henri ) . 

(9) Dependence on portion of text. If the original passage 
be divided into 3ds or 4ths (or even, if long, into 8ths), it will 
be found that, on the average, the reproduction of any one of 
these portions is inferior to the one that precedes it and supe- 
rior to the one that follows it. Thus, Shaw's story, on division 
into 4 parts, was found to be reproduced in the amounts 52, 
34, 31, and 28 per cent., respectively. 

What may be regarded as a test of logical memory Avas made 
by Dell Avith 30 boj-s Avho listened to an hour-and-a-half lecture 
upon material in Pimch, Avhicli was illustrated by 80 lantern 
slides. The boys were asked 8 days later to indicate which 
slides they recalled. The first 15 slides were, on the average, 
recalled by 11.2 boys, slides 47-59 by 3.8, slides 60-74 by 3.5, 
and slides 75-80 by 4.8 hojs. These figures certainly seem to 
demonstrate a decidedly better recall of slides in the first por- 
tion of the lecture, with a questionable slight rifse at the end of 
the lecture. Dell, hoAvever, believes that there were at work 
other causes than simply the dependency of memory on different 
jiositions in the lecture. 

(10) Reliability. The Avork of Simpson, Winch and others 
shows that the logical memory test has an acceptable degree 
of reliability. Winch obtained coefficients of 0.65 and 0.6S 
between single trials ; Simpson, coefficients of 0.78, 0.83 and 0.90 
(for different groups) between scores in his first two and his 
last two trials. It follows that the amalgamated results from 
two, or at most three trials of this test afford quite reliable indi- 
cations of ability in the capacities tested. 

(11) Dependence on intelligence. The relation between logi- 
cal memory and intelligence has been studied mainly hj rating 
intelligence on the basis of scholarship. The resulting correla- 



TEST 39 : MEMORY FOR IDEAS 



[583] 217 



tions are somewhat unexpectedly Ioav. Thus, in SG cases, Teis- 
sier found a correlation of only 0.19 with class standing, of 0.11 
with standing in mathematics, and of 0.22 with standing An 
Latin. Henderson found but a slight correlation with class 
standing in the loAver grades, but a closer correlation in the 
higher grades. He is of the opinion that, at least in the lower 
grades, the school marks put a premium upon industry and 
good conduct, rather than upon native ability, and thus obscure 
the existing correlation. Pyle estimates the relation with class 
standing in college at about 0.30, and says : "If a slow learner 
has the habit of going over a lesson or task several times, and 
a fast learner the habit of giving a lesson but one hasty read- 
ing, other things being equal, the slow learner will have the 
better scholarship" (12, p. 319). The very best students have 
both good memory and good habits of study. If performance 
in tests of reasoning be taken as a measure of intelligence, 
then Peterson's work confirms the general statement given 
above, for of 30 students classed as good in reasoning, 20 ranked 
good, 5 medium and 5 poor in memory, while of the 17 classed 
as poor in reasoning 3 ranked good, 6 medium and 8 poor in 
memory. Again, in Simpson's investigation the correlation 
between logical memory and estimated intelligence of his 
'good' group was but 0.35, after correction for attenuation. 
However, his good and his poor group were fairly well sepa- 
rated by the test, since none of the poor group reached the 
median of the good group and only 15 per cent, of the poor 
group excelled the lowest 12 per cent, of the good group. 

(12) Mental defectives. Wallin tested epileptics by n>eans 
of Binet's Story of the Fire, though without warning them 
when reading that a reproduction would be called for. Table 



TABLE 120 

Stori/ of the Fire. 8cores for Epileptics 'by Mental Age {After Wallin) 



BINET-SIMON AGE 


VII 


VIII 


IX 


X 


XI 


XII 


XIII 


Cases _ 


13 
2.1 


42 

3.7 


27 

4.8 


70 
5.3 


28 
6.5 


11 

6.8 


17 


Aver. Ideas 


7.4 







218' [584] ASSOCIATION^ LEARNING AND MEMORY 

120 shows the average number of ideas reproduced by his 
patients as classified for mental age by the Binet-Simon tests. 
It is evident that there exists a general progress in efficiency 
with mental age, but that the average performance of these 
mental defectives is not as good as would be expected of normal 
children in the ages from 9 to 13. 

(13) Miscellaneous correlations. Peterson, by the method 
of unlike signs, using the pooled results of several tests of each 
'function,' concluded that memory was correlated with reason- 
ing by 0.40, with abstract thought by 0.64; with generalizing 
ability by 0.40 and with accuracy by 0.31. Simpson publishes 
as estimated true correlations (holding for people in general) 
with memory for passages the following: completion test 0.71, 
hard opposites 0.70, memory for words 0.80, easy opposites 
0.50, a-test 0.46, adding 0.42. The high correlation with memory 
for words .permits us, he concludes, to class substance memory 
with it as virtually the same capacity. Winch found correla- 
tions between substance memory and productive imagination 
(inventing stories) which appear to be higher in the more pro- 
ficient classes (the r's secured in various classes were 0.28, 
0.43, 0.48, 0.62, 0.75). Heymans and Brugmans found a cor- 
relation of only 0.08 between reproduction of a somewhat 
elaborate story at various time-intervals and the learning of 
nonsense syllables, but a correlation of 0.55 between the memory 
test and a test involving memory for details of a picture. They 
also report a correlation of 0.56 between the completion test 
and written reproduction of a difficult passage from Hofi'ding's 
li^thics. Wissler found a correlation of 0.21 between logical 
memory and length of head, but no correlation between logical 
memory and rote memoiy, speed of naming colors, reaction 
time, or breadth of head. 

(14) Qualitative aspects.^ Inspection of the work of children 
and introspective examination by adults of their own mental 



Consult especially Balaban, Micbotte and Ransy, and Mlchotte and 
Forty cli for further study of the qualitative aspects of logical memory, 
particularly of the difference between mechanical and logical memory 
under simple test conditions, lilve the method of right associates. The 
work of Aall has also numerous suggestive features in addition to those 
here mentioned. 



TEST 39 : MEMORY FOR IDEAS [585] 211) 

processes reveal a number of interesting principles. In the 
first place, there is a process of selection : words or ideas that 
are logically or psychologically important are best retained. 
Or, as Henderson expresses it, there is, especially during a long 
time-interval, a process of condensation and generalization. 
The main ideas, the important topics, the brunt of the passage 
may remain fairly constant, but the minor details tend to be 
forgotten, and the original phrasing to become less and less 
clear. 

When, then, the reproduction is demanded, most 8's first 
recall these main ideas or larger topics, and then develop the 
details, as best they may, from them. There is a strong tend- 
ency, in this filling out of the details, toward what Binet and 
Henri speak of as "verbal assimilation," i. e., a tendency to 
express the ideas in one's own terms, rather than in those em- 
ployed in the original passage. Thus, adults often use sj^no- 
nyms or other forms of substitution, while children replace the 
words of the original hj words from their ordinary vocabulary 
{e. g., played for amused themselves, fire for conflagration), 
and at the same time tend to simplify the syntax. In general, 
Binet and Henri found that the number of times that synonyms 
are used in the recall is, in short passages greater, and in long 
passages less than the number of ideas completely omitted. 

Finally, the substitution of terms for those of the original 
tends, especially in younger ^"s and with longer time-intervals, 
to become inexact ; in other words, the sense of the original 
becomes more or less distorted. Thus, for instance, Binet and 
Henri discovered that, in all sentences containing more than 
20 words, more than half of their »S"s had made some change in 
the meaning of the original. Of these alterations of sense, the 
most conspicuous are: (1) change of proper names or of num- 
bers, (2) replacement of an object by an analogous object that 
might fit the sentence equally well, (3) insertion of details not 
inconsistent with the original, but still not in the original, and 
(4) alterations apparently due to emotional reaction, espe- 
cially to exaggeration, c. g., a frightful snal:e for a snalce. 

Aall thinks that tAvo sorts of >S"s can be distinguished — the 
'reporters,' who make every eft'ort to get the reproduction ex- 



220 [586] ASSOCIATION^ learning and memory 

act, and the 'describers,' who introduce various modifications 
and embellishments for the sake of literarj^ or rhetorical effect. 
He found the typical error in recounting a story to be omission 
rather than falsification. Mention has been made already of 
the changes found by Aall in deferred reproductions. 

(15) Miscellaneous points. In the case of college students, 
from 50 to 90 per cent, of the words underlined are actually 
correct. A certain type of ^S* may be recognized, who is ex- 
tremely cautious about underlining words, but who usually 
has these few nearly all correct. 

Binet and Henri estimate that memory for connected sen- 
tences is approximately 25 times as good as memory for discrete 
terms. 

REFERENCES 

(1) A. Aall, Zur Psychologie der Wiedererzillilung. ZAngPs, 7: 
1912-13, 185-210. 

(2) W. Baade, Aussage iiber pliysikalische Demonstrationen. I. Abb. 
Die Metbodik der Versucbe iiber die Inhalte der Textanssagen. ZAngPs, 
4 : 1911, 189-311. 

(3) A. Balaban, Ueber den Unterscbied des logiscbeu und des 
luechaniscben Gediicbtnisses. ZPs, 56 : 1910. 356-377. 

(4) A. Binet et V. Henri, La memoire des pbrases. AnPs, 1: 1894 
(1895), 24-59. 

(5) J. A. Dell, Some observations on tbe learning of sensible material. 
JEdPs, 3 : 1912, 401-406. 

(6) E. N. Henderson, A stndy of memory for connected trains of 
tbongbt. New York. Pp. 94. (Columbia Univ. Tbesis.) 

(7) G. Heymans und II. Brugmans, Intelligenzpriifungen mit Stndier- 
enden. ZAiurPs, 7 : 1913, 317-331. 

(8) A. Micbotte et C. Ransy, Contribution a I'etude de la memoire 
logique. Extrait des Aniiales de I'lnstitut superleur de philosopliie. 
Louvain, 1912. Pp. 95. 

(9) A. Micbotte et Tb. Portycb, Deuxieme etude sur la memoire 
logique. Ilild.. 2 : 1913, 533-657. 

(10) R. JNI. Ogden, Untersucbungen iiber den Eiufluss der Ge- 
sebwindigkeit des lauten Lesens auf das Erlernen und Bebalten von sinn- 
losen und sinnvollen Stoften. ArGcsPs. 2 : 1903-4, 93-189. 

(11) II. A. Peterson, Correlation of certain mental traits in normal 
scbool students. PsR, 15: 1908, 323-338. 

(12) W. H. Pvle, Retention as related to repetition. JEdPs, 2: 1911, 
311-321. 

(13) W. H. Pyle, Tbe examination of scbool cbildren. New York, 
1913. Pp. 70, especially 8-14. 

(14) F. Scbramm, Zur Aussagetreue der Gescblecbter. ZAngPs, 5: 
1911, 355-357. 

(15) Stella E. Sbarp, Individual psychology: a study in psychological 
method. Aw.JPs. 10 : 1899, 329-391. 

(16) ,T. C. Shaw, A test of memory in scbool children. PdSe, 4; 
1896, 61-78. 



TEST 39 : MEMORY FOR IDEAS l^^^'i] 22 L 

(17) B. R. Simpson, Correlations of mental abilities. Columbia 
ConEd, No. 53. New York, 1912. Pp. 122. 

(18) L. W. Terman, Genius and stupidity. PdSe, 1.3: 1906, .307-373. 

(19) H. B. L. Vos, Beitriige zur Psycbologie der Aussage bei Scbul- 
kindern. Analyse der Aussage iiber eine geborte Erzablung. Amsterdam, 
1909. (Eigeubericbt, ZAngPs, 4: 1911, 375-378.) 

(20) J. E. W. Wallin, Experimental studies of mental defectives. 
EdPsMon, No. 7, 1912. Pp. 155. 

(21) W. H. Wincb, Tbe transfer of improvement in memory in scbool 
children, II. BrJPs, 3: 1910, 386-405. 

(22) W. H. Wincb, Some measurements of mental fatigue in adoles- 
cent pupils in evening schools. JEdPs, 1 : 1910, 13-23, 83-100. 

(23) W. H. Winch, Some relations between substance memory and 
productive imagination in school children. BrJPs, 4 : 1911, 95-12.5. 

(24) C. Wissler, The correlation of mental and physical tests. Ps 
Mon, 3 : 1901. Pp. 62. 



CHAPTER X 

Tests op Suggestibility 

The term 'suggestion' has found different usages in psychol- 
ogy; four at least may be readiW distinguished. (1) Suggestion 
is equivalent to association, e. g., the idea 'horse' suggests the 
idea 'Black Beauty.' (2) Suggestion is the conveyance of an 
idea by hint, intimation, or insinuation, e. g., the orator suggests 
an idea by an appropriate gesture. (8) Suggestion is a method 
of creating and controlling hypnosis. (4) Suggestion is a 
process of creating belief or affecting judgment, usually an 
erroneous belief or false judgment, in the normal consciousness. 
Here emphasis is jjlaced upon uncritical acceptance of a notion 
usually with the implication that the suggested individual 
is unaware that his ideas have been thus affected. From his 
point of view, suggestion is, then, to follow Stern's definition 
(6), "the imitative assumption of a mental attitude under the 
illusion of assuming it spontaneously." 

The tests which follow all purport to measure susceptibility 
to suggestion in this last-named sense. In them, the experi- 
menter seeks, by suitable arrangement of the test-material or 
of the instructions, to induce the subject to judge otherwise 
than he naturally would — to induce him, for example, to judge 
equal lines or equal weights to be unequal, or to perceive 
Avarmth when there is no warmth, etc. If the attempt is suc- 
cessful, the subject is said to have 'yielded,' or to have 'accepted' 
the suggestion ; if unsuccessful, he is said to have 'resisted' the 
suggestion. The degree of his suggestibility is indicated by the 
quickness or frequency of his 'yields.' 

Just as efficiency in observation, attention, memorj^ and the 
like has been shown to be specific, not general, in character, 
so is it probable that suggestibility is specific, not general, in 
character. For this reason, suggestibility must be tested by 
more than one method. 

[588] 222 



SUGGESTIBILITY [589] 223 

Many of the tests iu other portions of this book, e. g., Nos. 
17, 23, and especially 32, afford opportunity for noting the sug- 
gestibility of subjects. The serial graded tests of Binet and 
Simon also contain directions for testing the suggestibility of 
young or of feeble-minded children. 

The tests which follow deal with suggestibility aroused by 
the volume-weight illusion, the length of lines, judgments of 
weights under special conditions, and illusory warmth. Other 
experimental methods of inducing suggestibility, which have 
not as yet been arranged for test work, may be brielly cited. 

H. J. Pearce (3) had /S"s sit in a chair with a circle of 3.5 ft. 
radius drawn about it. S fixated a small bit of paper directly 
in front of him. A te^t square was exposed briefly at a point 
somewhere to the right of the fixation-point, and S located its 
position afterward by moving his eyes to the right. Suggestion 
was introduced by displaying at times a third bit of paper near 
or farther than the test square. There was at first a tendency 
to resist this suggestion, but eventually there was developed a 
tendency to locate the test square in a direction corresponding 
to the location of the suggestive paper. Auditory and tactual 
stimuli were also tried. 

J. C. Bell (1) displayed triangles of different shapes and 
heights, also vertical distances between points or between a 
point and a line. The iS"s reproduced the distances and were 
given verbal suggestions or visual suggestions to "make high" 
or "make low," etc. In general, the suggestions did affect the 
test with triangles, but there were decided individual differ- 
ences, and in many cases the constant errors were greater than 
the errors induced by suggestion. 

The work of E. K. Strong (7) was similar in character, save 
that his >S's exerted maximal strength of grip Avhile exposed to 
such suggestions as "Now jou can make it stronger than usual," 
etc., but with the proviso not voluntarily to interfere with the 
suggestion. The results showed that grips following both sug- 
gestions of 'weak' and 'strong' were stronger than those In- 
tended to produce 'neutral,' while there was no difference be- 
tween two first kinds. 



224 [590] SUGGESTIBILITY 

W. D. Scott (5) produced suggestion with some success by 
inducing ^'s to think that the flight of colors following an 
exposure to white light corresponded in order to the arrange- 
ment of colors in the spectrum. 

Inez Powelson and M. F. Washburn (4) showed colors with 
comments upon them, such as 'delicate/ 'crude,' etc., and in- 
fluenced in this wa}^ the affective reactions of 19 S's, but failed 
with 16 others. 

Giroud (2) showed 34 children, aged 7 to 12 years, a series 
of 10 colors, with the instructions to name each color and then, 
when the color was withdrawn, to write the name. At the 3d, 
7th and 10th terms, a wrong color-name was uttered by the ex- 
perimenter to try to induce 8 to write it. The average number 
of 'yields' was reduced gradually from 2.8 at 7 years to 1.7 at 
12 years. 

REFERENCES 

(1) J. C. Bell, The effect of suggestion upon the reproduction of tri- 
angles and of point distances. AinJPs, 19 : 1908, 504-598. 

(2) A. Giroud, La suggestibilitg cliez des enfants d'ecole de sept k 
douze ans. AnPs, 18 : 1912, 362-388. 

(3) H. J. Pearce, Normal motor suggestibility. PsRev., 9: 1902, 
348-855. 

(4) Inez Powelson and M. F. Washburn, The effect of verbal sugges- 
tion on .iudgment of the affective value of colors. AmJPs, 24 : 1913, 207-9. 

(5) W. D. Scott, Personal differences in suggestibility. PsRev, 17: 
1910, 147-154. 

(6) W. Stern, Abstracts of lectures on the psychology of testimony. 
AmJPs, 21 : 1910, 270-275. 

(7) E. K. Strong, The effect of various types of suggestion upon mus- 
cular activity. PsRev, 17: 1910, 279-293. 

TEST 40 

Suggestion by the size-weight illusion. — Big things are ordi- 
narily heavier than small things of the same kind. When we 
lift two weights of apparently the same material, but of differ- 
ent sizes, we more or less unconsciously put forth more energy 
or expect to meet with more resistance in lifting the larger. If, 
as in the case of the so-called 'suggestion-blocks,' the weights 
are really the same, we almost inevitably judge the larger 
weight to be the lighter; in other words, the visual appearance 



TEST 40 : SIZE-WEIGI-IT ILLUSION [591] 223 

of the weight has given us a suggestion — or, as it turns out, 
rather, a disappointed suggestion — of weight.^ 

This error of judgment is undoubtedly due to an association 
built up by long experience in handling and lifting various 
articles and objects.- One might, therefore, suppose that 
younger children, or less intelligent children, who would, pre- 
sumably, have had less of this discriminative association of size 
and weight, would be less affected by the suggestion. For this 
reason, the size-weight test has been applied by several investi- 
gators to determine or to measure, at least relatively, the degree 
of suggestibility exhibited by school children under various 
conditions. But it is to be noted that the having of the illusion 
is normal, so that this test is not on the same order as those 
that follow it, and it has probably no particular value as a 
measure of suggestibility in older children and adults; its 
primary value lies in its use with 3'oung or mentally. defective 
children. 

Apparatus. — Low table. Soft black cloth. Set of 'sugges- 
tion-blocks,' patterned after Gilbert, but modified by extending 
the comparison series m both directions. 

This set consists of two standard blocks and 20 comparison bloclcs. 
Both standards weigli 55 grams ; both are 28 mm. thick, but the larger is 
82 and the smaller 22 mm. in diameter. The 20 comparison blocks are all 
28.mni. thick and 35 mm. in diameter, but their weights range from 5 to 
100 g. by 5 g. increments.^ All are painted dead black. 

If it is desired merely to make a quick determination of the presence 
or absence of the illusion, simpler material may be employed, preferably 
the 'Demoor blocks' as used at the Vineland (N. J.) Training School. 
These blocks are of poplar Avood, and both weigh 1.5 lbs. ; the one is 1.75x 
3x4 in., the other 1.75x4x12 in. They are set before S with the simple 
instruction : "Tell me which block seems the heavier." 

Method. — Arrange the table at such a height that aS's fore- 



^As Scripture remarks, the poor fellow Avho has been laughed at for cen- 
turies for saying that a pound of lead is heavier than a pound of feathers 
is perfectly right, so long as he speaks psychologically, and looks at the 
pillow and the bit of lead pipe. A concrete demonstration of the truth of 
this statement is afforded by several experiments reported by Wolfe. 

-Some writers, however, e. g.. Flournoy, attribute the illusion to an in- 
born nervous connection. For a discussion of the psychological factors 
concerned in this experiment, particularly in its relation to the 'innerva- 
tion-sense,' consult Flournoy, Miiller and Schumann, Seashore, Bolton, 
Loomis, and van Biervliet. 

^Gilbert's comparison blocks were but 14 in number, with a range from 
15 to 80 g. This range proved inadequate for younger S's. 



22G [592] SUGGESTIBILITY 

arm will be parallel with the floor when lifting a weight. 
Spread over the table the black cloth, which should be large 
enough to cover at least the portion of the table occupied by the 
weights, and thick enough to deaden the sounds incident to 
their replacement. 

Arrange the twenty comparison blocks on the cloth, in the 
order of their weight from left to right, and in such a manner 
that any one of them may be reached by ^ Avithout materially 
changing the angle of his arm. Place before S the larger stand- 
ard block, and say : "Here is a block. I want you to find a 
block in this series of 20 blocks that seems to you just as heavy 
as this one. Lift it b}- picking it up edgewise with your thumb 
and finger, like this. [Illustrate.] Then try the first of these 
weights [at the left]. If that doesn't suit, try the next, then 
the third, and so on, till you find a block that seems equal to 
this one. Each time you must lift this block first, then the one 
you are trying in the series. Keep 3 our eyes constantly directed 
at the weight you are lifting." When ^ has selected an equiva- 
lent weight, the same procedure is followed with the second, or 
smaller, standard block. 

The work of investigators iu tlie psycliological laboratory, particularly 
Martin and Miiller, and Miiller and Schumann, has shown that our esti- 
mate of the absolute or relative weight of a body is conditioned by an un- 
suspectedly large number of factors, so that, while it may be true, as 
Fourehe (S) asserts, that volnutary modiflcations in the speed of grasp- 
ing and lifting the weights do not modify the size-weight illusion, it seems 
desirable that the conditions under which S lifts the bloclis should be 
kept as uniform as possible. 

/S' should pick up each block in -the same manner, lift it at the same 
tempo and to the same height. Again, since the memory image for weight 
changes rapidly, <S''s judgment, in so far as it is based upon the image of 
the first weight, would be appreciably altered if the second weight were 
lifted at varying intervals after the first : the interval should, accord- 
ingly, be made as constant as possible, and fairly short, say not over .3 
sec, and the ai-rangement of the weights must be such as to permit this 
procedure. Finally, in this test, since the suggestion hinges upon the 
visual perception of the block, E must be sure that S' looks directly at each 
block as he lifts it. 

Treatment of Data. — Following Gilbert, Scripture, and Sea- 
shore, the force of suggestion produced by the difference in size 
of the two standard blocks may be indicated by the diff'erence 
in weight, in grams, betAveen the two comparison blocks that 
are selected by >S^ as the equivalents of the tAvo standards. 



TEST 40 : SIZE-WEIGHT ILLUSION 



;593] 227 



The force of the size-weight illusion has been expressed by 
Scripture, on the basis of the more elaborate suggestion-blocks 
used by Seashore, in the form of a special law.* 

Results. — (1) Dependence on age. Sample results for nor- 
mal children are those of Gilbert (Table 121) : it will be seen 
from them that the illusion is well developed at the age of G 
years, increases gradually till 9 years, and thence declines 
slowly with age.° Dresslar (G), hoAvever, whose method Avas 
undoubtedly less satisfactory, judged the effect of age to be 
indifferent for 7 years and above. Philippe and Claviere, who 
tested children from 3 years up, declare that the illusion de- 
creases progressively below the age of 7, that it is obtained by 



TABLE 121 

Force of Suggestion (GiWert) 



AGE 


.6 


7 


8 


9 


10 


11 


12 


13 


14 


15 


16 


17 


NB 


45 


50 


46 


47 


49 


43 


54 


45 


47 


49 


47 


43 


NG 


47 


45 


46 


47 


42 


48 


49 


58 


53 


51 


39 


41 


F 


42.0 


45.0 


47.0 


50.0 


43.5 


40,0 


40,5 


38.0 


34.5 


35.0 


34.5 


27.0 


P 


36 
17.0 


37 
15.5 


27 
13.5 


36 
10.5 


23 
12.5 


22 
11.5 


15 
9.0 


8 
9.0 


7 
9.5 


12 

10.5 


6 
10.0 





MV 


12.0 


FB 


43.5 


43.5 


45.0 


50.0 


40.0 


38.5 


38.0 


37.0 


31.0 


33.0 


32.0 


25.0 


FG 


42.0 


43.5 


49.5 


49.5 


44.0 


40.0 


41.0 


38.0 


33.5 


38.0 


38.5 


31.0 



NB = number of boys 

NG = number of giris 

F = force of suggestion, in grams, for both sexes (median values) 

P = per cent, of cases in which F exceeded 65 g., the limit used 

MV =^ statistical mean variation 

FB = force of suggestion, in grams for boys (median values) 

FG '-= force of suggestion, in grams, for girls (median values) 



■•For the data from which this law is derived, see Scripture (19, p. 27Gf), 
also Seashore (1.5, pp. 3-14). For a striking demonstration of the force 
of the illusion, refereiice may be made to Wolfe's statements that "about 
one woman in 7 finds 1 g. of lead equal in weight to 60 g. of inflated paper 
bag," and not "one woman in 7 will find a gram of inflated paper bag half 
as heavy as a gram of lead" (21, p. 460). 

'^Gilbert's explanation is given in the following terms : "At 6 he has not 
yet learned to compare. As he^ learns gradually to judge a thing from 
more aspects than one, or in other words, learns to interpret one sense by 
another, the force of suggestion given by the eye to the muscle increases 
until at !) he has come to the age of ex])erience enough to see that things 
are not always what they seem. Consequently at this age he begins to 
correct misleading influences bearing upon him." 



228 [594] 



SUGGESTIBILITY 



only a third of the children 3 to 6 years old, that it would per- 
haps disappear entirely if the test could be carried below the 
age of 3. The}' also found that the illusion is sometimes re- 
versed in children of these ages. 

(2) Dependence on mental age {defective children). In 1900 
Demoor and Daniel (4) used the size-weight illusion, together 
with other tests, in an examination of 380 'abnormal' children, 
6 to 15 years of age, in the city of Brussels. Ten of these chil- 
dren, all of them ranked as idiots or 'simple-minded,' either 
failed to get the normal illusion or had the illusion reversed. 
Three years later Claparede (3) obtained similar results with 
18 mentally defective children at Geneva, and proposed that 
'Demoor's sign' (failure to get the normal illusion) should be 
regarded as indicative of a diagnosis of medical (mental) re- 
tardation. In 1913 Doll (5) reported upon the examination at 
the Vineland Training School of 345 feeble-minded, of chrono- 
logical ages 5 to 60, and mental ages 1 to 12 years. The results 
(Table 122 and Fig. 75) show that ability to perform the test at 
all (with or without getting the illusion) indicates a mental 
age of 4 years or over, while getting the normal illusion indi- 
cates a mental age of 7 years or over, since 84 per cent, succeed 
at 7 3'ears and 100 per cent, at 8 3'ears and above. 



TABLE 122 

Reactions of Fceble-Minded Children to the Sizc-WeigM Illusion {Doll) 



MENTAL AGE 


NUMBER 
TESTED 


COMPLETE 
FAILURE 


NO ILLUSION 


ILLUSION 


1 


35 
37 

38 
32 
35 
36 
45 
41 
25 
12 
4 
5 

345 


34 97.1 

28 75.7 

17 44.8 

6 15.G 

5 14.3 

2 5.6 

3 6.7 







94 


1 

3 

8 
14 
9 
12 
4 






51 


% 

2.9 

8.1 
21.6 
43.7 
25.7 
33.3 

8.9 












% 

0.0 


2 


4 10.8 


3 


12 31.6 


4 


13 40.7 


5 


21 60.0 


6 


22 61.2 


7 — 


38 84.4 


8 - 


41 100.0 


9 

10 


25 100.0 
12 100.0 


11 - 


4 100.0 


12 


5 100.0 


Total 


197 



TEST 40 : SIZE-WEIGHT ILLUSION [595] 229 



Perceo+agi 
100 



80 



70 



50 



30 



20 



\ 

\ 

\ 












/ 










\ 
\ 

\ 
\ 










, 


/ 










\ 


\ 








/ 














\ 
\ 
\ 
\ 
\ 
\ 




7 




^ 














\ 




'x 




















/ \ 

/ \ 

\ 


\ 




7?ipez 
















1/ 


\ 


~~~ 


\ 


\ 














/ 








\ 


-—- 


■^1 













BinetHge I 2 3 -=» S' 6 7 S 9 lo II 12 

Cases 35" 37 3S 32 35 36 'IS 41 25 IE ^ 5 

FIG. 75. SIZE-WEIGHT ILLUSION IN THE FEEBLE-MINDED. (Doll). 

(3) Dependence on sex. The relation of sex to suggestion by 
the size-Aveight illusion has been differently stated by different 
investigators. Dresslar, for example, concludes that boys are 
more suggestible than girls. Wolfe, on the contrary, states that 
''men are less prone than women to illusions of weight," and 
that, in comparing wooden with lead weights, "the women 
overestimate the lead nearly tAviee as much as the men." Gil- 
bert and Seashore find females more suggestible than males, 
but in nothing like the degree stated by Wolfe. Thus, inspec- 
tion of his table shows that, according to Gilbert's method, 
after the age of 9, girls are, on the average, more influenced by 
the illusion than are boys. Seashore (16) tested 17 women and 
28 men with two test-weights quite different in size, and found, 
similarly, that on the average the women showed the stronger 
illusion. 



230 [596] SUGGESTIBILITY 

(4) The relation of intelligence to suggestibility among nor- 
mal children has not been treated as carefully as the problem 
warrants. Gilbert made no correlations with intelligence. 
Dresslar concluded that bright children exhibit a stronger illu- 
sion, but Seashore (15) contends that Dresslar's method (ar- 
rangement in serial order) did not afford a real measure of the 
strength of the illusion. 

(5) Practise, even if regular and persistent, does not dispel 
the illusion. It may, on the contrary, increase in amount 
(Hollingworth). If ^ be told the nature of the illusion, it still 
persists, though its intensity is thereby somewhat reduced 
(Seashore). 

(6) If the method of procedure be modified, the strength of 
the illusion will be altered. 

The more important of the relations thus revealed are the following :" 

(ft) "The illnsion of weight deitendent on size is greatest when size is 
estimated mainly by muscle-sense, and the weights have not previously 
been seen." I'ourche says it is then three times as strong. 

(6) "The illusion is more fluctuating and on the whole not quite so 
strong when size is estimated by the area of pressure in the flat palm, in- 
cluding a memory of the third dimension." 

(c) "In these variations, the illusion is weakest when size is estimated 
by direct sight." 

{(I) "When size is estimated by the combined effect of all the spatial 
senses, the illusion is weaker than when depending on muscle-sense or 
touch, and stronger than when dependent on sight alone." 

(e) The illusion is weaker when the blocks are viewed in indirect 
vision, and still weaker when judged by visual memory. 

{f) A knowledge, or supposed knowledge, of the material of which 
weights are made may affect the estimate of their weight. 

(.<7"t The illusion does not necessarily vary directly with the volume of 
the compared weights, but depends in part upon the manner in which the 
difl^erence in volume is brought about. 

(h) The illusion obtains among the blind, where it follows the snme 
general law as for the seeing, though it is not so strong, either for lifted 
or merely 'touched' weights, as for the seeing under the same conditions 
(Rice). 

Notes. — The outcome of any test of weight-comparison is 
somewhat affected by the tendency felt by all ^'s, though dif- 
fering in degree between different individuals and in the same 
individual at different times, to overestimate the second of two 
lifted weights. 



^See, especially, Seashore (15). 



TEST 40 : SIZE-WEIGHT ILLUSION [•^'J'J'] 231 

If blocks of different material, e. g., cork and lead, or wood 
and iron, be constructed in such a manner as to have the same 
dimensions and the same weight, the knowledge of the actual 
differences in the weight of the two materials produces an illu- 
sion similar to the size-weight illusion. Seashore (16) tested 
school children with this material-iueight illusion, and found 
that the overestimation of the metal blocks amounted to from 
7 to 11 grams (or from 13 to 20 per cent, of their actual weight, 
55 g.). For this illusion, it is of interest to note, there was 
found virtually no variation with age, sex, or intellectual 
ability. 

REFERENCES 

(1) F. E. Bolton. A contribution to the study of illusions, etc. AniJPs, 
9: 1898, 1G7-1S2, especially 1(j7-178. 

(2) A. Cliari)(>ntier, Analyse experimentale de quelques elements de la 
sensation de poids. Archives de physiologie normale et pathologique, 5tli 
ser., 3: 1891, 122-1.35, esjiecially 12Gff. 

(3) E. Claparede, L'illusion de poids chez les anormaux et le 'signe de 
Deniooi-.' ArP.^ (f) , 2: 3903,22-32. 

(4) Demoor et Daniel, Les enfants anormaux k Bruxelles. AnPs, 7: 
1900 (1901), 290-313, especially 307-8. 

(5) E. A. Doll, The Demoor size-wefght illusion. T/'.S'c, 9: 1913, 
145-149. 

(6) F. B. Dresslar, Studies in the psychology of touch. AniJPs, 6: 
1894, 313-308, especially 343-300. 

(7) Til. Flournoy, De I'influence de la perception visuelle des corps sur 
ieur poids apparent. AjiPs. 1: 1894 (1895), 198-208. 

(8) J. A. Fourche. L'illusion de poids chez Thomnie normal et le 
tabetique. Nancy, 1911. 

(9) J. A. Gilbert, Researches on the mental and physical development 
of school children. SdYalePsLab, 2: 1894, 40-100, especially 43-5, and 
59-03. 

(9a) IT. L. Hollingworth, The influence of caffein on mental and motor 
efficiency. VolmuJjiuConPliPs 20, and ArPs{e), No. 22: 1912, pp. IGG, 
especially p. 20. 

(10) H. N. Loomis, Reactions to equal weights of unequal size. *sV? 
YiiJePsLab, n. s. 1: No. 2, June, 1907, 334-348. (Same as PsMon, 8: No. 
3, whole No. .34.) 

(11) L. Martin und G. E. Miiller, Zur Analyse der UnteJ'schiedsemp- 
findlichkeit. Leipzig, 1899. Pp. 233. 

(12) G. E. Miiller und F. Schumann, Ueber die psychologischen 
(Jrundlagen der Vergleichung gehobener Gewichte. ArGsFlig, 45: 1889, 
37-112. 

(13) J. Phillipe et J. Claviere, Sur une illusion musculah-e. RPJiF, 
40 : 1895, 672-082. 

(14) .T. F. Rice, The size-weight illusion among the blind. S'dYalcPa 
Lab, 5: 1897, 81-87. 



232 [598] SUGGESTIBILITY 

(15) C. E. Seashore, Measurements of illusions and hallucinations in 
normal life. SdYalePsLaJ), 3: 1895. 1-G7, especially 1-29. 

(16) C. B. Seashore, The material-weight illusion. UnloivaSdPs, 2: 
1S99, 36-4G. 

(17) E. W. Scripture, Remarks on Dr. Gilbert's article. SclYalePs 
Lab, 2: 1894, 101-1. 

(18) E. W. Scripture, The law of size-weight suggestion. Sci, n. s. 5: 
February 5, 1896, 227. 

(19) E. W. Scripture, The new psychology. London, 1897. See ch. xix. 

(20) J. van Biervliet, La mesure des illusions de poids. AnPs. 2: 
1895, 79-8(3. 

(21) H. K. Wolfe, Some effects of size on judgments of weight. Ffili, 
5 : 1898, 25-54. 



TEST 41 

Suggestion by progressive weights. — This test, like that which 
follows it, is one of several devised by Binet for the purpose of 
securing a quantitative measure of the degree of suggestibility 
of children or adults when the suggestion is 'depersonalized,- 
in the sense that it is derived by S himself from the objective 
conditions of the experiment, rather than from the attitude, 
tone, instructions, or personality of E. The principle embodied 
in this test is, in other words, the arousal, by auto-suggestion, 
of a "directive idea," or the rapid development of an attitude 
of expectation. Suggestibility is measured, at least approxi- 
mately, by the ease with which this suggestion, or habit, of 
judgment, is aroused and by the persistence that it displays 
under conditions which tend gradually to counteract it. 

Materials. — A set of 15 weights, of identical size and ap- 
pearance, numbered conspicuously from 1 to 15. The first four 
weigh 20, 40, (30, and 80 grams, respectively; the remaining 11 
weigh 100 grams each. Table of such a height that S can stand 
in front of it and lift the weights readily, A thick gray or 
black cloth. 

Preliminaries. — Spread the cloth over the table. Place the 
15 weights in a line as numbered, with the lightest on the left and 
the 11 heaviest on the right, and with about 2 cm. between each 
weight. No. 1 is then at the left, No. 15 at the right of the row. 

Method. — Give S the following instructions : "Here is a 
series of weights, 15 of them. I want you to lift them, one after 
the other, like this. [Illustrate by taking a weight between 



TEST 41 : PROGRESSIVE WEIGHTS [599J 233 

thumb and finger and lifting some 10 cm. from the table.] As 
3^011 lift each weight, I want yon to tell me whether it is heavier, 
lighter, or the same as the one just before it. All you have to 
say is either 'heavier,' or 'lighter,' or 'the same.' Remember 
you are to compare each Aveight with the one you lifted just be- 
fore. For instance, when you lift the 8th, you are to say 
whether it is heavier, lighter, or the same as the 7th. Here is 
the first weight, number one, at the left end of the row." 

Watch S to see that he follows these instructions, particu- 
larly that he lifts the weights successively, without relifting 
earlier ones. Eecord his judgments verbatim; be careful, also, 
to note any secondary evidences that might throw light on his 
judgments, e. g.^ attitudes or expressions of hesitancy, assur- 
ance, surprise, embarrassment, cautiousness, etc. 

Variations of Method. — (1) In the second method followed 
by Binet, S is instructed to lift, in each trial, the preceding 
weight as well as the one that is being judged, e. g., he lifts the 
8th, then the 7th, then the 8th again: next the 9th, then the 
8th, then the 9th again, etc. The lifting is all done, as before, 
with the one hand. 

(2) In the third method followed by Binet, S is asked to esti- 
mate the first weight lifted. He usually gives too small an 
estimate. He is then told that its weight is 20 grams (about 
0.7 ounce). The series is now compared, using either of the 
methods of lifting above described, according to >S^'s preference,^ 
but >S' is required to estimate or gTiess the heaviness of each 
weight, basing his judgment, of course, merely on the knowledge 
that the first weight is 20 gTams. 

Treatment oe^ Data. — From the tabulated results, E may 
easily determine in how many cases the objective progression 
of the first 5 weights was correctly noted. For a measure of 
suggestibility, E must take the number of times 'heavier' is 
judged in the last 10 judgments (Avhen 'same' is the correct 
judgment). This measure is admittedly somewhat crude, but 



^It would, obviously, be better to prescribe either the one or tlie other 
method for all <S"s. The lirst method has the merit of taking less time, 
and it is the method that is for the most part naturally adopted by 
younger /S"s. 



234 [600] 



SUGGESTIBILITY 



it affords a fairly reliable index for determining the relative 
order of rank of a group of >Sf's. Thus, an 5^ that judges 'heavier' 
10 times is unquestionabh' more suggestible than one Avho an- 
swers 'heavier' but 5 times, though not necessarily twice as 
suggestible. 

If all three methods are employed, E may determine ^''s sug- 
gestibility by adding the number of false 'heavier' judgments 
in all three tests. In the third method, the quantitative esti- 
mate given by S for the 15th weight (or the maximal estimate 
for weights 6 to 15) might be taken, in comparison with his 
estimate of the 5th weight, as an index of suggestibility, but 
this method is not regarded by Binet as so reliable as the one 
already described. 

Results. — (1) The general outcome of the test as conducted 
by the first, or standard, method is indicated in Table 123, which 
embodies the results obtained by Binet vipon 24 elementarj^- 
school children, aged 8-10 years. 

(2) It is evident that, in children of this age (8-10), not all 
judge correctly the actual objective increase in the prst five 
tveights. Since the differences are supraliminal, the exceptions 



TABLE 123 

The Pyogressive-W eight Suggestion. 2Ji Cases (Binet) 



NO. OP WEIGHT 1 


2 


3 


4 


5 


6 


7 


8 


9 


10 


11 


12 


13 


14 


15 


Actual weight 


20 


40 

24 






60 

19 

1 

4 


80 
19 

1 
4 


100 

23 



1 


100 

1.3 

9 

2 


100 

1 

5 


100 

18 
4 
2 


100 

18 

1 

5 


100 
12 

7 
5 


100 

19 

2 

3 


100 

19 

2 

3 


100 

17 

3 

4 


100 

15 

3 

6 


100 

12 

5 

7 


Times estimated + 

Times estimated - ____ 
Times estimated rr 



must be ascribed to faulty attention, though, possibly, the fact 
that the weights are of equal size may have clouded the direct 
perception of weight by lifting. 

(3) In general, the suggestion is still working, though less 
poAverfully, at the 15th trial : in other words, it has persisted, 
for most 8's, through the successive lifting of 10 equal weights. 

(4) There is a marked drop in the judgment 'heavier' at the 
6th tveight, i. e., at the first 'trick' weight — a drop which is, 



TEST 41 : PROGRESSIVE WEIGHTS 



[GOl] 235 



obviously, due to a 'disappoiuted suggestion/ analogous to that 
Avhieli conditions the size-weight illusio'n of the preceding test. 
In the present instance, S is, in most cases at least, prepared to 
find the 6th Aveight heavier than the 5th : he puts forth more 
elf ort ; the weight rises with unexpected ease, and is, therefore, 
often judged 'lighter.' If, however, 8 is more influenced by his 
expectation of 'heavier' than by the unexpected lightness of the 
weight, he still judges 'heavier,' or he may, from the conflict 
of these two tendencies, judge 'equal.' 

(5) P7'actisG has very little effect upon the suggestibility of 
>S^'s : at least Binet found that, when 12 older children (16 years) 
repeated the test by the first method five times in immediate 
succession, there was no alteration in the average number of 
times that suggestion appeared (the average number of sug- 
gestions in the five trials was 5.1, 4.9, 5.4, 5.0 and 5.5, respect- 
ively) . 

(6) Binet's tentative experiments indicated that age appar- 
ently has less efifect upon suggestion b}^ progressive weights than 
upon suggestion by progressive lines (see the following test). 
In trials by the first method, 12 children aged 16 years re- 
sponded, on the average, with 5.1 suggestions, whereas 24 chil- 
dren aged 8-10 j^ears, responded, on the average, with 6.75 sug- 
gestions. The later experiments conducted under Binet's direc- 
tion by Giroud show a distinct lessening of suggestibility after 
9 years when only those >8"s are considered who made no errors 
in the first four judgments (objective increase of weight), as is 
indicated in the last column of Table 124. 



TABLE 124 

Averages for Progressive-W eight Suggestion by Age (Giroud) 





HEAVIER 
JUDGMENTS 


CONSECUTIVE 




HEAVIER JUDGMENTS OF S'S MAKING 


AGE 


HEAVIER 
JUDGMENTS 


JUDGMENTS 


NO ERROR WITH OBJECTIVE 
INCREASES 


7 


6.5 


5.5 


2.3 


8.4 


8 


6.6 


5.3 


1.6 


7.0 


9 


5.2 


2.4 


2.0 


8.0 


10 


7.0 


4.8 


1.2 


4.5 


12 


5.0 


3.6 


5.0 


5.0 



236 [602] SUGGESTIBILITY 

(7) According to Binet, comparison of tlie results of this test 
with othet^ tests of suggcstibiUti/, especially the line-test, indi- 
cates a fair degree of correlation, so that, while the sense-de- 
partment under examination may in part determine the extent 
of suggestion, very suggestible S's may be expected to prove 
noticeably suggestible in all tests. On the other hand, tests 
undertaken in the Educational Laboratory at Cornell Univer- 
sity- do not confirm Binet's statement, and lead one to believe 
that Scott's conclusions (Test 44) are correct, when he asserts 
that there is no such thing as general suggestibility. 

(8) Procedure by the second metJiod (compulsorj^ lifting of 
the antecedent weight) makes the real progression (1st five 
weights) more uniformly evident, but reduces the illusory 
progression. 

(9) Procedure by the third method, (estimates of each weight) 
produces less suggestion than the first, but more than the sec- 
ond method. Inspection of the estimated weights (grams) 
show (a) that ;S's have a decided preference for the use of num- 
bers terminating in or 5, (5) that no one of the 24 S's over- 
estimated the 5th weight (100 g.), but that they commonly 
greatly underestimated it (30 to 50 g.), and (c) that those ^'s 
that showed the gTeater number of suggestions also gave, on 
the average, the largest quantitative estimations for the illusory 
increments. The correlation of suggestibility under these two 
methods of treatment (first and third) was found hj Okabe and 
Whipple to be 0.53. 

REFERENCES 

(1) A. Binet, La suggestibilite. Paris, 1900. Ch. iv. (pp. 161-208). 

(2) A. Giroud. La suggestibilite cliez des enfauts d'ecole de sept a 
douze ans. AnPs, 18 : 1912, 362-388. 

TEST 42 

Suggestion by progressive lines. — The purpose and general 
plan of this test are the same as in the preceding test of sugges- 

^Tliese tests, wbicli were conducted by T. Okabe, under tbe author's 
directions, included all tbe suggestibility tests of Binet, together with the 
warmth tests (No. 44). The results of their application to 29 /S's indicate 
almost total lack of correlation of suggestibility in the several tests. 



TEST 42: SUGGESTION BY PROGRESSIVE LINES [603] 237 

tion by progressive weights, and the details are again derived 
from the work of Binet. 

Apparatus. — A sheet of cross-section paper, ruled in milli- 
mieter squares. Kymograph drum, with kymograph or some 
form of supporting stand. Cardboard. Strip of wliite paper, 
15X15 cm. Drawing materials. 

Preliminaries. — Arrange the kymograph drum so that it 
may lie horizontally and be revolved freely by hand. It may 
conveniently be left in the kymograph with the driving 'step' 
loosened, or be placed in the smoking stand. Across the strip of 
white paper, draw with a ruling pen 20 parallel, straight, black 
lines, 2 cm. apart and each 1 mm. wide. The lines must begin 
at varying distances from the left-hand margin : the first four 
are to be 12, 24, 36, and 48 mm. long, respectively; the remain- 
ing 16 are to be each 60 mm. long. Support the sheet of card- 
board vertically in front of and close to the kymograph drum, 
and cut a horizontal slit 1X12 cm. through the cardboard in 
such a position as to expose the ruled lines, one by one, as they 
are turned past the slit.^ 

Method. — Seat ^ 50 cm. from the screen and provide him 
with a sheet of cross-section paper. The instructions should 
take the following form : "I want to try a test to see how good 
your 'eye' is. I'll show you a line, say an inch or two long, and 
I want you to reproduce it right afterwards from memory. 
Some persons make bad mistakes; they make a line 2 inches 
long when I show them one 3 inches long; others make one 4 
or 5 inches loMg. Let's see how w^ell you can do. I shall show 
the line to you through this slit. Take just one look at it, then 
make a mark on this paper [cross-section paper] just the dis- 
tance from this edge [left-hand margin] that the line is long. 
When that is done, I shall show you the second line, then the 



'In default of the kymograpli, the strip of ruled lines may be laid flat 
upon the table and exposed through a 1 x 12 cm. slit cut in the center of 
a sheet of cardboard 55 cm. square. 

Or. the test-lines may be drawn as sections of radii uijon a cardboard 
disc which is supported vertically just behind the screen and rotated to 
bring them into view successively. 



238 [604] SUGGESTIBILITY 

third, and so on. Make the marks for the second on the line 
bek)Av the first, the third on the next line, and so on." - 

E then turns the drum to bring the first, or shortest, line into 
view. As soon as >S* turns his attention to the recording of his 
estimate on the paper, the drum is moved forward slightly to 
conceal the line, so that further comj)arison is impossible. As 
soon as >Sf has placed his mark, then, and not before, the next 
line is exposed. This precaution serves to maintain the im- 
pression that a new, and hence probably a longer line is ex- 
posed. Slow aS"s may need to be hurried; too quick ones may 
need to be checked, so that the interval between successive ex- 
posures shall be approximately 7 sec. To keep >S''s attention 
alive, E may accompany the exposures with non-suggestive re- 
marks, e. (J., "^'Here is the second line." "Here is the third," etc. 

If 8 has ceased to respond to the suggestion of progressive 
augmentation at the 20tli exposure, the test ends at that point : 
if not, E should, Avithout ^'s knowledge, bring the drum back 
to the 5th line, and continue the exposures of the series of 60 
mm. lines as before, until S does cease to respond to the sugges- 
tion, 

E should note and record any significant features in ;S"s 
manner, e. .(/., signs of embarrassment, hesitancy, automatic 
response, etc. 

When the test is completed, and provided no further tests of 
suggestibility are to be undertaken at the time, E will find it 
advantageous to quiz S with regard to his attitude toward the 
test. This interrogation must be very tactfully conducted. E 
m?ij, for example, begin by saying : "Are you entirely satisfied 
with what you have done"? If aS' answers in the affirmative, 
let E continue with such inquiries as: "Do you think you have 
made any mistakes"? "Did you make any lines too short or 
too long"? "At what moment did you notice that your lines 
were too long"? "Why didn't you make them shorter"? etc. 



-These directions should be followed with some care. In tests of sug- 
gestion, the slightest change in the setting of the test, or in the manner or 
content of the instructions, may materially affect 5"s attitude toward the 
experiment. The object is to convey the idea of a straightforward test of 
accuracy of line-reproduction, and to avoid arousing any suspicion of 
snares or tricljs. 



TEST 42 : SUGGESTION BY PUOGRESSIVE LINES [005] 2.39 

If 8 confesses that lie made some mistakes, let him take his rec- 
ord-sheet and make the changes that he thinks ought to be made 
to produce a correct record, using small circles for his correc- 
tions to avoid confusion with his first estimates. 

Variations of Method. — E may, if desired, adopt the ar- 
rangement first used by Binet, according to which there are 12 
successive stimulus-lines, all of which begin at the same dis- 
tance from the left-hand margin, and which have the following 
lengths : 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 60, 72, 72, 84, 84, 96, 96 mm. It is 
evident that numbers 6, 8, 10, and 12 constitute four 'trap-lines,' 
since the arrangement suggests progressive augmentation, 
whereas each of these four lines is equal to that which imme- 
diately precedes it. 

Treatment of Data.^ — (1) For a measure of suggestibility, E 
may take the number of lines out of the last 15 lines that are 
drawn longer than the 5th line was drawn. 

(2) A coefficient of suggestibility may also be calculated, 
following Binet's method, by the formula 

a? : 100 = max. L : 5tJi L, 
in which 

X = the required coefficient, 
max. L == the length of the maximal line recorded by ^S*^ 
5th L = the length of the 5th line as recorded by 8. 
Absence of suggestibility is, then, indicated by a coefiicient of 
100 : presence of suggestibility by a coefficient of over 100. 

(3) When the variant method is used, the degree of suggesti- 
bility may be determined roughly in terms of the number of 
'traps' in which 8 is 'caught,' or more exactly, by the formula 

X : 100 = c : r, 
in which 

X =z the required coefficient, 

c z= the average recorded increment of the four trap lines, 
r =z the average recorded increment of the four lines im- 
mediately preceding the four trap-lines. 

Results. — (1) In his examination of pupils in the elementary 
schools, aged 8-10 years, Binet found that the coefficient of sug- 
gestiUlity ranged from 109 to 625. In 16 of 42 pupils, the coeffi- 



240 [606] 



SUGGESTIBILITY 



cient was 200 or over, i. e., the maximal line was double or more 
than double the 5th line.^ 

AVltti the variant form of test, Biuet found the coefficient lying between 
7.6 and 120. No one of 45 children avoided all four 'traps,' and 36 eliil- 
dren avoided none of them. Occasionally, the trap-line, presumably on 
account of the contrast between the stimulus and the child's expectation, 
was actually recorded as shorter than the preceding line. (S"s whose co- 
eflicient in this form of test is 100, i. e., whose average increment for the 
trap-lines is the same as for the objectively progressive lines, are termed 
'automatic' 

(2) The point at which maximal suggestion is registered 
is commonly between the 19th and the 25th line, but may lie 
anywhere between the 7tli and the 36th (this being the limit 
tested by Binet). 

(3) Inspection of the records of individual pupils shows 
that in some cases the force of suggestion w^as steady and per- 
sistent, while in others it reached a maximum, and then de- 
clined. 

(4) Extremely suggcstihle ^'s may make their 'estimate' of 
the line without even looking at it when exposed; their minds 
are so completely dominated by the suggestion of uniform 
augmentation that they do not trouble to observe the stimulus. 

(5) The degree of suggestion induced by this test declines 
markedly with age: Binet found, for instance, that the coefifl- 
cients of suggestibility, in the case of 12 pupils whose age aver- 
aged 16 years, ranged only from 103 to 146. Binet's work was 
continued by Giroud, who tested 38 children and obtained for 
averages, on the basis of a possible score of 15, the following 
averages for the number of times any line beyond the 5th ex- 
ceeded the length assigned to the line just before it : 



YEARS 


7 


8 


9 


10 


12 


Cases tested- _ 


10 
10.7 


10 

8.2 


5 
4.2 


5 

4.8 


8 


Score 


1.0 







That it is difficult to induce the suggestion with adults was 
shown in scattered tests made by the author upon college stu- 
dents. On the other hand, Chojecki, who tested 30 men and 30 



^For detailed records of number of individual cases, consult Binet, 124ff. 



'TiEST 42: SUGGESTION BY PROGRESSIVE LINES [607] ^41 

women students of the University of Geneva, had better suc- 
cess, and found, indeed, 3(3 persons (22 men and 14 women) 
susceptible of suggestion by this method. 

(6) In either form of test, the 1st line is apt to be over-esti- 
mated. The 5th line is almost invariably underestimated. Gen- 
erally speaking, this underestimation is less pronounced in 
those >S"s that prove least suggestible. 

(7) In many instances, the records bear witness to a struggle 
between the directive idea of progressive increments and the 
impressions which are actually received from the lines as they 
are exposed. Especially characteristic is the appearance of a 
number of estimates in which the directive idea is effective, 
followed by a sudden reduction in estimation, which is again 
followed by another series of progressive increments. In other 
words, the idea of progression is operative until a point is 
reached when the recorded length is manifestly too long. S 
makes, then, a more or less marked correction, but does not, 
curiously, relinquish the notion of progression, and this again 
becomes manifest. 

(8) The corrections made hj young >S''s during the inquiry 
that follows the test cannot, of course, be taken as exact indi- 
cations of the extent of the suggestion or of their consciousness 
of error. It will be found that many /S's are conscious that they 
have made the lines too long; some can also explain why they 
made them too long; but it is rare that any one gives a satisfac- 
tory explanation of why he continued to make them too long, 
after he realized that he had been overestimating. 

(9) Correlations. Tests of school children and of adults by 
Okabe and Whipple afforded the following correlations (foot- 
rule method) : Suggestibility for progressive lines (number of 
'yields') and suggestibility for progressive lines (maximal di- 
vided by the 5th line) 0.38; correlation, by either treatment, 
with contradictory suggestion, (Test 43) about 0.25, with 
directive suggestion (Test 43) about 0.20, with suggestion for 
warmth 0.17, with the size-weight illusion (Test 40) 0.10 by the 
first, and — 0.14 by the second method of computing suggestion 
for progressive lines. 



242 [60S] SUGGESTIBILITY 

REFERENCES 

(1) A. Binet, La suggestibilite. Paris, 1900. Pp. S3-1G0. 

(2) A. Chojecki, Contribution a I'etude de la suggestibilite. ArPs(f), 
11 : 1911, 1S2-186. 

(3) A. Giroud, La suggestibilite chez des enfants d'ecole de sept S. 
douze ans. AiiPs, IS : 1912, 362-388. 

TEST 43 
Suggestion of line-lengths by personal influence. — In the three 
preceding tests suggestion is produced by the objective condi- 
tions of the test : in everyday life, however, suggestion is often 
produced by personal influence, by authoritative statement or 
coinaiiand, or merely b}'^ what Binet terms 'moral influence.' 
Two forms of line-test have been utilized by Binet to study 
this variety of personal suggestion: the first he terms 'contra- 
dictory suggestion,' the second 'directive suggestion' (sugges- 
tion directrice) : in the former E makes certain statements that 
are intended to interrupt or modify a judgment that S has just 
made; in the latter, statements that are intended to control or 
influence a judgment that ^ is just about to make. 

A. CONTRADICTORY SUGGESTION 

Materials. — Drawing materials. A sheet of cardboard upon 
which are drawn in ink 24 parallel, straight, black lines, rang- 
ing in length from 12 to 104 mm., by increments of 4 mm. The 
lines all begin at the same distance from the left-hand margin, 
are 7 mm. apart, and are numbered in order of their length, 
from 1 to 24. Three rectangular pieces of cardboard, about 
12x20 cm., on each of which is drawn a single straight line. 
These three stimulus-lines correspond to numbers 6, 12, and 18 
of the 24 comparison-lines, and are, accordingly, 32, 56, and 80 
mm. long, respectively. 

Method.- — Show 8 the card of comparison-lines, and explain 
their numbering. Replace this by the first stimulus-line (32 
mm.), saying: "Look carefully at this line." After 4 sec, re- 
move the stimulus-card, present the comparison-card, and say : 
"Tell me the number of the line that is just the length of the 
one I showed you." At the moment that 8 gives his judgment, 
E says : "Are you sure ? Isn't is the — th" ? — indicating always 
the next longer line. If >S answers "No," E repeats the question 



TEST 43 : SUGGESTION OF LINE-LENGTHS [009] 243 

in exactly the same form. If iSf still answers "No," the attempt 
to produce suggestion is suspended, and the case is recorded as 
one 'resistance.' The second and the third stimuhis-lines are 
presented and the same procedure is followed in each case. 
If, in any of the trials ^ answers "Yes," i/' then inquires: 
"Isn't it this one"? — indicating the next longer line, and this 
inquiry is carried on from line to line until ^' has twice resisted 
the suggestion, i. e., has twice answered "No" to the same ques- 
tion.^ 

Variations of Method. — For many >8"s, particularly for 
adults, more success will attend the use of a second method 
tried by Binet in preliminary tests, viz. : the introduction of an 
interval of 12 sec. between removal of the stimulus-line and 
presentation of the comparison-card. 

Treatment of Data. — Following Binet, /S"s suggestibility 
may be rated in terras of the total number of 'advances' in lines 
that he makes, under inquiry, in all three trials. Thus, if he 
^yields' two lines the first time, three the second, and none the 
third, his suggestibility is rated as 5. 

Kesults. — (1) Children tend to select for their first line one 
that is shorter than the stimulus-line.- 

(2) Of 25 children, aged 8-10 years, Binet found 6 who re- 
sisted suggestion completely, 6 who 'yielded' once, 5 twice, 2 
three times, 2 four times, and one each six, seven, and more 
than seven times. 

(3) Preliminary experiments conducted by Binet and Henri 
upon 240 pupils, with some slight changes in method (particu- 
larly, giving an opportunity both for direct comparison and for 
selection b}^ memory after a 12 sec. interval), yielded the re- 
sults (2: p. 343) indicated in Table 125. 

Here it is evident that £"s suggestion is less effective when ^ 
can make direct comparison of the lines, and that suggestibility. 



^Onee more it should, be said that it is highly important to follow the 
same forin of inquiry, to use the same tone, the same attitude, in every 
question for every B, since the suggestion which we seek to measure is 
conditioned by the character of the inquiries. 

^E is almost always, therefore, in a position to demonstrate to ti, if 
need be. after the test, that his suggestion would have been a sound one 
to follow. 



244 [610] 



SUGGESTIBILITY 



TABLE 125 

Percentage of 'Yields' to Contradictory Suggestion (Binet and Renri) 



AVERAGE AGE 


MEMORY TEST 


COMPARISON TEST 


MEAN 


7-9 

9-11 

11-13 


89 
80 
54 


74 
73 

48 


81.5 
76.5 
51.0 



under either direct comparison or comparison from memory, 
declines with age. 

(4) ;S''s who have selected the correct line are less apt to 
change their designation under suggestion than are S"s who 
have selected the wrong line : thus Binet and Henri found that 
56 per cent, changed their selection when it was actually right, 
but 88 per cent, when it was wrong. Moreover, of the latter, 
81 per cent, made the change iu the proper direction. 

B. DIRECTIVE SUGGESTION 

Apparatus. — As in Test 42, save that only the 60 mm. lines 
are used. 

Method. — Seat S 50 cm. from the cardboard screen and pro- 
vide him with a sheet of cross-section paper. Instruct him as 
follows : "I'm going to show you a number of lines. You will 
see them appear through this slit, one at a time. When I show 
you a line, take a good look at it ; then make a mark on this 
paper at just the distance from this edge [left-hand] that the 
line is long. When that is done, I shall show you the second, 
then the third, and so on. You will make the mark for the 
length of the second line on the second line of your paper, for 
the third on the next line, and so on." 

E now displays the 5th. i. e., the first 60 mm. line of the series, 
with the remark : '"Here is the first one." When S is ready for 
the second line, i. e., 7-10 sec. later, E remarks, as he exposes it : 
"Here is a longer one." When the third is exposed, he remarks 
"Here is a shorter one ;" and he continues to use these remarks, 
alternately, at the moment of exposure of each line, until 15 
lines have been exposed, the first without suggestion, the re- 
mainder coupled with 14 suggestions — 7 of shorter, 7 of longer. 



TEST 43 : SUGGESTION OF LINE-LENGTHS L'^^l] -"^^ 

These suggestions must be given just before the line is ex- 
posed, in a quiet tone, without looking at 8. S should see the 
disc turn and the new line appear at the moment that he re- 
ceives the suggestion. 

If desired, S may be questioned afterward, as indicated in 
Test 42, with regard to his attitude toward the suggestions. 

Treatment of Data. — When S accepts the suggestion, record 
a 'plus' case ; when he resists the suggestion, either by making 
the length equal to that of the preceding line, or by altering the 
length in a direction contrary to the intent of the suggestion, 
record a 'minus' case. The number of the plus cases may serve 
as an index of aS^'s suggestibility. Record should also be kept of 
the extent of modification (in mm.) made by >Sf in each trial. 

Results. — (1) The verbal directive suggestion used in this 
test is more potent, at least for children 8-10 years old, than the 
auto-suggestion induced in Test 42. Sixteen of 23 pupils tested 
by Binet submitted completely to the suggestion,^ and no one 
resisted every suggestion. 

(2) The suggestion is, in general, stronger at the outset than 
toward the end of the series, as is indicated by the fact that the 
extent of modification of line-length decreases, and the number 
of complete resistances increases, as the series progi'esses. 

(3) Verbal suggestion is commonly more effective in pro- 
ducing augmentation than in producing reduction in line-length, 
in the proportion of about 5 to 4. 

(4) There are marked individual differences in the suggesti- 
bility of school children under the conditions of this test. Binet 
found that in 18 trials the number of resistances to suggestion 
ranged from to 14. (See Binet, 1, pp. 228-9, for a detailed 
table.) 

(5) The first line is practically invariably underestimated. 

(6) Tests upon 10 children, whose average age was 17 years, 
showed less suggestibility than in the case of younger children ; 
still, 4 of the 17 accepted every suggestion, and 3 others re- 
sisted suggestion only once. The average extent of modification 
produced by suggestion is, however, less than in the case of 



"This statement is made in the text, but does not appear to be borne out 
by Binet's table (1, pp. 228-9). 



24:6 [612] SUGGESTIBILITY 

younger ^'s. Again, the extent of modification is practically 
constant throngliont in the series with the older *Sf's, but large 
at first and then progressively^ less in the series with the 
3'ounger /S"s. 

Notes. — The experiments of Bell, Brand and Jones, in which 
the estimates or judgments of spatial magnitudes or extents 
were subjected to verbal suggestions, such as "make high," 
"make low," "you are now able," "you are now unable," etc., 
cannot be directly compared with the work of Binet, because in 
all of them the S'& were well aware of the intentional and arti- 
ficial character of the suggestions and were instructed to avoid 
voluntary resistance to them. In general, the suggestions in 
these experiments had some effect upon the work of the ;8"s, 
but not upon all of them, nor always in the direction in which 
they were supposed to infiuence the outcome. 

REFERENCES 

(1) A. Binet, La suggestibilite. Paris, 190O, especially 219-243. 

(2) A. Binet et V. Henri, De la suggestibilite naturel'le. RPliF, 38: 
1894, 337-347. 

(3) J. C. Bell, The effect of suggestion upon the reproduction of tri- 
angles and of point distances. AmJPs, 19 : 1908. .504-598. 

(4) .J. E. Brand, The effect of verbal suggestion upon the estimation 
of linear magnitudes. PsRcv. 12 : 1905, 41-49. 

(5) Grace M. Jones, Experiments on the reproduction of distance as 
influenced by suggestions of ability and inability. PsRev, 17 : 1910, 
269-278. 

TEST 44 

Suggestion by illusion of warmth. — In measuring either dis- 
criminative or liminal sensitivity, difficulty is not infrequently 
caused by the interference of auto-suggestion (see various tests 
of Chapter VI). In the immediately preceding tests (Nos. 40 
to 43), a process of discrimination (of weights and line-lengths) 
was, accordingly, made the basis for testing suggestibility. In 
the present test, a (supposed) measurement of liminal sensi- 
tivity is made the basis for testing suggestibility. The plan is 
to arrange experimental conditions in such a way as to suggest 
warmth, when no warmth is present. 

This idea seems to have originated in the Yale laboratory, 
when Seashore (5), in 1895, worked out a proposal made two 
years earlier by Scripture (4). SmalFs varied tests of sug- 



TEST 44: ILLUSION OF WARMTH L^'l^] 247 

gestibility (6), wliich appeared in the following year, embodied 
two very simple 'heat' tests. More recently, Guidi in 1908, 
Scott in 1910, and Chojecki in 1911, have reported tests of sug- 
gestibility to warmth, the former Avith a simple Svarmth box,' 
the latter with apparatus somewhat similar to the original de- 
vice of Seashore. Four methods are described herewith; the 
resistance-wire method of Seashore and Scott, the heated box 
method of Guidi, and the two simple methods employed by 
Small. 

A. ILLUSORY WARMTH RESISTANCE-WIRE METHOD 

Apparatus. — Stop-watch. Special warmth-tester. 

The warmth-tester consists of a wooden box, open at the end facing- E, 
and provided, on the top, with porcelain soclvets for fonr electric lamps, 
wired in mnltiple, and with a snap switch by wlaich the current (105-110 
volt, D. C.) may be turned on or off. The wiring is purposely left visible, 
and leads conspicuously from tlie lamps to a coil of No. 24 German-silver 
wire, 1 m. long, which is wound, without covering, about a flat piece of 
hard rubber, 3 x 10 cm. This resistance coil is fastened to the front of 
the box, in such a manner that it may be easily reached by 8, without 
exposing his fingers to the warmth of the lamps on the top of the box. A 
concealed circuit leads to a noiseless switch, underneath the box, which 
can be operated by E without ^S's knowledge. By means of this switch., E 
may shunt the current through the coil, or cut the coil out entirely, with- 
out affecting the illumination of the lamps.^ 

Preliminaries. — Find an arrangement of lamps such that, 
when the current passes through the coil, w^armth becomes per- 
ceptible in 8 to 10 sec. Four 25-watt tungsten lamps generally 
]>rove satisfactory. If necessary, use one or more 40-watt lamps. 

Method. — Give S the following instructions : ''I want to 
test. your ability to perceive warmth. Hold this coil of wire 
gently between your thumb and two fingers, like this [illustrat- 
ing]. You will see that the coil is connected with these electric 
lamps, so that, when I light them, a current of electricity can 
flow through the coil and warm it — it is made of German-silver 
wire, and offers a slight resistance to the current. There is 
nothing at all to be afraid of. You can't feel any shock from 



^In default of a 110-volt circuit, a resistance-wire apparatus may be 
contrived with a battery, after the plan described by Seashore, though 
the absence of the illaminated lamps alters the experimental conditions. 



248 [614] SUGGESTIBILITY 

the current, nothing but a slight warmth. Watch carefullj^, 
and, the moment that you feel warmth, say /now.' " 

Without attracting S's attention, close the secret coil-switch, 
so that no current passes through the coil. After a preliminary 
'ready,' snap the lamp-switch rather ostentatiously^; start the 
stop-watch at the same instant, and lean forward in an attitude 
of expectancy, keeping one hand on the lamp-switch, as if 
awaiting >S"s 'now.' Snap the lamps off as soon as the 'now' is 
si)oken. Record the time. Feel of the coil, or solicitously blow 
upon it, as if to cool it. Eepeat the test 5 times with each 
hand, alternately. 

If S, at any trial, fails to get the illusion of warmth within 
60 sec, open the coil switch (without >8"s knowledge), so that 
warmth is actually felt, but record the trial as one 'resistance,' 
or failure. 

Variations op Method.— Following the plan of Seashore and 
of Scott, tell S that 20 trials will be made. Give a preliminary 
series of 5 trials with each hand, with objective warmth from 
the start, in each trial. Without interruption, continue with 
an equal number of trials in which the coil is not warmed unless 
8 fails to report warmth within a period of some 10 sec. longer 
than the average time at which he had reported warmth in the 
first 10 trials. 

Treatment op Data. — In either method, suggestibility is 
measured by the absolute or relative number of trials (without 
objective warmth) in which -S' reports warmth. 

8 ma}^ also be rated in terms of the quickness (number of sec- 
onds) with which the illusion is reported. 

B. illusory warmth GUIDI^S METHOD 

Apparatus. — Stop-watch. Matches. Alcohol lamp, fitted 
with hinged extingTiishing cap. Cubical wooden box, with a 
chimney-like metal top, a circular hole in the front face, and a 
hinged door in the back face (Fig. 76). 

Method. — E^'s instructions are analogous to those in the re- 
sistance-wire method. "I want to test your ability to perceive 
warmth. I want you to thrust your forefinger into this box 
through the hole in front. I shall put this lamp into the box. 



TEST 4-1: ILLUSION OF WARMTH [t>15] 249 

It won't burn you at all. Just watch very carefully, and say 
'now' the moment that you notice any warmth in the box." E 
then lights the alcohol lamp, opens the door of the box, sets in 
the lamps extinguishing the flame as he does so, starts the 
watch, closes the door, and expectantly awaits ^'s judgments.- 

Materials.— Alcohol lamp. A pin thrust through the rubber 
tip of a pencil, or through a small bit of soft wood. Toothpick, 
or other bit of wood with a blunt point. Matches. Piece of 
cardboard, about 15x15 cm. Blindfold. 

Method. — (1) Let S see the lighted lamp and the pin in its 
holder. Instruct him as follows : "I am going to warm this 
pin in this flame, then touch it to the back of your hand to see 
if you can notice the warmth it makes. Don't be afraid of be- 
ing burned, as it will not be hot enough for that, and I shall try 
it on my own hand flrst. Say 'now' when you feel its warmth." 
Blindfold ^ carefully. Go through the operation of heating the 
pin ; say 'ready/ but do not touch ;S"s hand at all. If 8 reports 
warmth, ask him to describe the feeling: if he does not report 
warmth, repeat the test, but touch him on the back of the hand 
with the pointed piece of wood, to see if the contact is reported 
as 'warm' or 'hot.' 

(2) Light a match and move it around about 1 cm. above the 
back of /?'s hand. Call his attention to the -waves of heat' that 
he feels. Blindfold him carefully. Ask him to see if he can de- 
tect the heat waves e\evj time. Strike a match, and move it 
about over his hand, but hold the cardboard between the match 
and the hand. Repeat several times Avith either hand. Note 
the number of times the suggestion is 'accepted,' and any indi- 
cations of the readiness or degree of suggestibility. 

Results for all Methods. — (1) In general, the results of 
the warmth-illusion test appear to be conditioned primarily by 
the success of the investigator in creating a proper atmos- 



^Guidi's method deviated some\Yhat from tlie above, in that S was in- 
structed to push his finger slowly into the box against a metal disc, and 
degree of suggestibility was measured by the extent to which the finger 
had been inserted when warmth was reported. This procedure presents 
difficulty in governing the rate of movement, and has, so far as the au- 
thor's experience goes, no advantage over the procedure that has been 
recommended. 



250 [616] 



SUGGESTIBILITY 



phere of suggestibility, rather than upon the particuUir appa- 
ratus emploj^ed. Thus, Seashore met with amazing success. 
Of his 8 college students, only 3 resisted at all, and these but 
once or twice each, so that, in 420 trials, there were only 5 
failures to perceive heat. Small tested boys and girls from the 
7th grade and the high school : in 21 trials, 5 reported heat, 
with no contact at all, 19 reported heat from the wooden point, 
while in 19 trials with the "heat-waves," 17 proved suggestible. 




FIG. 76. 



. GUIDI S APPARATUS FOR THE WARMTH ILLUSION. 

(Modified by Wliipple.) 



C. ILLUSORY WARMTH SMALL^S METHOD 



Of Scott's 20 college students, 9 'yielded' 10 times (of a pos- 
sible 10) ; 5 yielded 9 times; 2 yielded 4 times, and 1 each 8, 7, 
5, and 3 times. No one of the 20 *S'\s resisted in every trial. 
Chojecki, who tested 30 men and 30 women students at the 
University of Geneva, got positive results from 19 (31.8 per 
cent.) with the use of Guidi's method. Okabe, Avho Avorked with 
school children and adults in the Cornell laboratory under the 
author's direction, obtained positive results in 70.7 per cent, of 



TEST 44 : ILLUSION OF WARMTH 



[G17] 251 



the trials, and with 22 of 29 /^'s (Table 126). The Italian 
children tested by Gnidi were less suggestible (at least for his 
method), as Table 127 shows. 



TABLE 126 

Suggestibility to Warmth. Resistance-Coil Method {OJcabe and Whipiyle) 



GROUP 


NUMBER 


TRIALS 


YIELDS 


PER- 
CENTAGE 

OF 
SUGGEST- 
IBILITY 


CASES 

WITH 

NO 

YIELDS 


Men 

Women _ _ _ 


12 
n 
1 

5 
5 


59 
29 
36 
33 


43 
20 
27 
21 

111 


73 

69 

75 
64 


1 

2 


Bright bovs 


1 


Dull boys 


1 






Totals 


29 


157 


70.7 


5 







(2) The relation to sew and to age cannot be stated with as- 
surance. Guidi's results indicate maximal suggestibility at the 
age of 9, but the Cornell tests, perhaps from being too few in num- 
ber, failed to show characteristic differences between grammar- 
school boys and adults. It is likewise unsafe to generalize from 
the indications there given of the greater suggestibility of men. 

(3) The degree of suggestiMUty, as indicated by the readiness 
with which warmth is felt, differs, as might be expected, in 
different ^''s, i. e., even of those who invariably perceive warmth, 
some report only "faint warmth," others "sudden heat," etc. 
Guidi classed his pupils into three groups, according as they 
took the suggestion quickly (in 1 to 2 sec), moderately (2 to 3 
sec), or slowly (after 3 sec), and found 33 per cent., 63.7 per 
cent., and 3.3 per cent, of his >S"s in these three classes, re- 
spectiveh^ 

(4) Scott found no correlation between suggestibility as 
measured by the warmth illusion and suggestibility as meas- 
ured by his flight-of-colors test, Chojecki no correlations be- 
tween the results of his three methods, viz. : Guidi's 'stove,' 
Ochorowicz's 'hypnoscope' and Binet's progressive lines. 
Okabe's tests afforded the following low correlations with other 
forms of suggestibility tests: with progressive lines (Test 42) 



252 [618] 



SUGGESTIBILITY 



0.17, with contradictory suggestion (Test 43) 0.21, witli di- 
rective suggestion (Test 43) 0.29, with the weight illusions 
(Tests 40 and 41) none. 

TABLE 127 
Suggestihility to Warmth, as Related to Age. 187 Cases (Guidi) 



Age 

Per cent, suggestible. 



6 7 
50 40.9 



51.8 



9 



10 11 

50 40 



12 
33.3 



13 
21.4 



14 15 
27.3 33.3 



REFERENCES 

(1) A. Chojecki, Contribution a retude de la suggestibilite. ArPs{f), 
11 : 1911, 182-186. 

(2) G. Guidi, Recherches experimentales sur la suggestibilite. ArPs 
if), 8: 1908, 49-54. 

(3) W. D. Scott, Personal differences in suggestibilitj'. PsR, 17: 
1910, 147-154. 

(4) E. W. Scripture, Tests on school children. EdR, 5 : 1893, 52-61. 

(5) C. E. Seashore, Measurements of illusions and hallucinatioiis in 
normal life. SdYalePsLah, 3 : 1895, 1-67, especially 30-32. 

(6) M. TI. Small, The suggestibility of children. Pd^Se, 4: 1896, 176- 
220, especially 183-186. 



OHAPTEK XI 

Tests of Imagination and Invention 

Imagination, like most of the stock psycliological terms, h'dfi 
the misfortune to be used in several different ways. In jDopu- 
lar usage, imagination commonly implies something fanciful 
and unreal; we condemn a rumor, for example, by dubbing it 
■^'a mere figment of the imagination." In psychology, imagina- 
tion has both a general and a specific meaning. Broadly speak- 
ing, imagination is equivalent to imaging, or thinking in 
images, as over against perceiving — re-presentation as con- 
trasted with presentation. But the psychologist also differen- 
tiates between imaging which refers to some part of one's past 
experience (memory) and imaging, which, though necessarily 
based upon this same material, presents the material in new 
forms or patterns, and which is not felt to refer definitely to 
some part of one's past experience. This latter is imagination 
in the specific, or narrower meaning of the term. 

A further distinction is made between imagination which 
occurs under passive attention, as illustrated in reverie, musing, 
or dreaming, and imagination which occurs under active atten- 
tion, and which is marked by persistent, purposeful effort to 
dissociate former combinations of experience and to reorganize 
them into some new plan. We have, then, a distinction between 
passive imagination and active, creative, or productive imagi- 
nation. 

The tests of this chapter are designed both to secure indica- 
tions of the wealth of spontaneous imagery in phantasy, and to 
measure capacity for creative or inventive thinking. 

In so far as intelligence denotes not merely good attention 
and good memory, but also inventive capacity, ability to plan 
and organize, to anticipate, or to ^'put tAvo and two together" 
(Ebbinghaus' komhinicrende Tdtlgkeit) , in so far must the at- 
tempt to measure intelligence employ tests of productive imagi- 
nation and invention. It goes without saying that the tests 
here described do not exhaust the possibilities of investigation 

253 [619] 



254 [020] IMAGINATION AND INVENTION 

in this important field of mental activity. Undoubtedly, new 
tests will be devised which will prove of value in supplementing 
those heretofore emploj^ed. We need especially a series of tests 
of inventive capacity, of graded difficulty, which shall put less 
emphasis upon linguistic attainments. 

TEST 45 

Ink-blots. — In their discussion of a proposed series of tests 
for the examination of individual differences in mental traits, 
Binet and Henri, in 1895, suggested that fertility of visual 
imagination might be investigated by means of a series of ink- 
blots. Two years later, but independently, G. Dearborn pub- 
lished brief suggestions for making a series of blots, and in the 
following year described the results of the use of 120 blots in 
the case of 16 Harvard students and professors. Since then 
Kirkpatrick has tried the ink-blot test with public school chil- 
dren of 8 elementary grades ; Miss Sharp has followed the sug- 
gestion of Binet and Henri in a study of individual psychology 
upon graduate students in Cornell University, and Pyle has 
published preliminary averages for different ages. 

The ink-blot test is commonly classed as a test of passive 
imagination, under the assumption that >Sf simply looks at the 
blot and allows his associative jn'ocesses to suggest to him 
whatever 'pictures' the}' may. In practise, however, S is quite 
likely to search actively for these associations, so that the 
mental activity concerned is, perhaps, more allied to active 
than to passive imagination. 

Materials. — Standard series of ink-blots, numbered from 1 
to 20. Stop-watch. Paper properly prepared for recording /S's 
statements. 

The primary diflBculty heretofore existing in the application of the ink- 
blot test has been the lack of standardized material. To meet this diffi- 
culty, the author has prepared the series of blots just mentioned by using 
zinc-block prints, so that investigators may now apply the same series 
of blots, and thus secure strictly comparable data. Unfortunately, this 
series has not yet been applied upon a sufficiently extensive scale to 
render it possible to publish norms of performance for the test. 

Method. — (a) Full procedure. Instruct ;§ as follows: "I 
have here a series of 20 odd-shaped ink-blots. I want you to 



TEST 45 : INK-BLOTS [f^21] 255 

take them in order from 1 to 20, one at a time, to look them over 
at 3' our leisure, and to tell me (or write down on a numbered 
blank) what things yow can see in each blot. Try them in dif- 
ferent positions. Of course, these blots are not really intended 
to be pictures of anything, but I want to see whether jour 
imagination will suggest pictures of things in them, just as 
you sometimes try to see what objects you can make out of 
clouds." Let S take his own time. Especially with younger 
S's, it is better for E to record the results, so that 8 may be per- 
fectly free to enumerate as many things as are suggested to him. 

Kirkpatrick used only four blots, and allowed eac4i pupil one minute to 
name as many associations as possible for each blot. Miss Sharp used 10 
blots, and allowed only 5 minutes for the (whole?) test. 

The test may be conducted with a group of /S'"s by distributing the 
cards, and having them passed successively from member to member of 
the group until each (Sf 'has written his associations for each card, but 
this method has obvious disadvantages. 

(6) Shorter procedure. Following the method used by Dear- 
born, arrange the 20 cards face down in a pile, with the 20th 
card at the bottom, the 1st at the top, and the numbered edges 
toward 8. Instruct *S' as follows : ''Each of these 20 cards has 
on it an odd-shaped ink-blot. When I say 'now,' turn over the 
first card in this way [illustrating the movement that will ex- 
pose the face of card No. 1 with the numbered edge toward S]. 
Look at the ink-blot, without turning the card in any other posi- 
tion, and say 'now' (or tap on the table) as soon as you have 
thought of something that the blot resembles. Of course, the 
blot is not really intended to' be a picture of anything, but I 
want to see whether your imagination will suggest some 'pic- 
ture' in it, just as you sometimes try to see Avhat object you 
can make out of a cloud." Give the command 'now' ; start the 
stop-watch at the same time. When aS* gives his signal, stop the 
watch, record the time and the object or association given by S. 
Continue in the same manner with the remainine; cards.^ 



^The method proposed by Pyle (allowing 3 min. for writing the first 
thing suggested by each card in the order 1 to 20) is a modification of 
Dearborn's method for the purpose of making group tests. It suffers 
from the defects already pointed out (Ch. II, pp. 8-11) as characteristic 
of tests in which speed is made a measure of performance, in which 
written responses are introduced and in which a time-limit instead of a 
work-limit is employed. 



256 [622] IMAGINATION AND INVENTION 

Treatment of Data. — In the full procedure, the score is 
based upon the average or total number of associations ; in the 
shorter procedure, upon the average speed of the single associa- 
tions. It is also possible to form some estimate, in either case, 
of the type, richness and variety of ^'s imagery by classifying 
the associations after some such plan as that illustrated below 
from Miss Sharp's results. ' 

Typical Results. — The following associations for the 20 
cards of the standard series are taken from the records of sev- 
eral adults, and will serve to indicate the variety that may be 
expected when the records of several ^'s are compared. Note 
the frequent reference to animals. 

(1) A lady seated on a couch. A witch riding on a new moon 
across the sky. A moose's head. A woman, sitting on a bank 
of shrubs, waving a handkerchief. Fir tree. Dragon in woods. 

(2) Child, crouching in fear. Man with grotesque features. 
Ugly old colored woman. Old man seated. Back of bear. Lion 
crouching. Tree uprooted. 

(3) A banner. A right-angled triangle. The God Billiken. 
An Egyptian idol. A jade-stone idol. A foot. Dog sitting on 
hind legs. Man shooting. 

(4) A large beetle. A boat load of excursionists. A lobster. 
A spider. Potatoes. A dirigible balloon of the Zeppelin type, 
with a cloud of steam or smoke overhead, and a grappling- 
anchor trailing below. Two trees and roots. Stockings on 
clothes-line. 

(5) A pig, A woman with a big head of hair. A butterfly, 
A hole through the ice. A girl wearing a tam-o-shanter cap. 
Human liver and heart. A rock. An oyster shell. 

(6) Woman running and holding her skirt. Woman with a 
muff in her left hand, and her hat almost blown off. A broken 
bellows. Merry Widow waltz. A dog on a post. An island and 
lake. 

(7) Large caterpillar on a horse's shoulders. A devil bending 
over something. An old man. A dream monster. A woman 
with flowers. Unicorn. Pig. 

(8) Human torso. Hot and cold water faucet in a bath tub. 
Person with head bent forward, holding sticks in her hand. 



TEST 45 : INK-BLOTS [G23]257 

Heads of two birds trying to swallow wliat is between them. A 
frog. A vase. Vertebra of back bone. 

(9) A goat with a pack on his back. A turkey with drooping 
v/ings trailing on the ground. A tree. A goose's head. 

(10) Ugly man's head. Head and arm of a woman with a 
lighted candle in her hand. A dachshund running off with 

X/iOvae one's cape. A mosquito pupa. A tree. 

/ (11) Map of Scotland and Ireland. Owl that has just placed 
a fish before him on the branch of a tree. Some specimen in 
geology. A tree blown in a heavy gale. A tiger under a tree. 
A conch shell. 

(12) Map of United States and part of Canada. A chicken 
lying on its back. An Indian head. A woman sitting on a 
cliff under a tree, reading a novel. A buffalo running. Hy- 
droids. 

(13) A flying squirrel. The skin of a bear. A hen sitting on 
a nest. A dog running. 

(14) A crab. A bat with outspread wings. A moth. A neu- 
rological slide. A flower. An insulator. 

(15) Section of medulla oblongata. Two nuns bowing their 
heads together. A tulip. A false mask. A crab. Head of a 
fish. A plate of false teeth. A design-unit of two bears with 
heads together. 

(16) Closed hand with thumb and little finger, or a sixth 
finger, projecting. A loving cup. A tea-pot. A head. 

(17) A root, A porcupine. An Indian head. A nerve cell. 
Sponge dropping water. 

(18) A Chinese dragon, as seen on packages of fire-crackers. 
Branch of a gnarled oak. A lizard. An old Avoman and child. 
A man with knees bent. 

(19) Bird alighting on a nest. A flying squirrel. Bear of a 
cat in rapid motion. A lamb. A duck. 

(20) Man pulling off his sweater. Kunner leaning forward 
to start a foot-race. Photographer, with focussing cloth over 
his head. Crocodile suspended by the head. Bear with the 
grandmother's night-cap and gown, as illustrated in Little Bed 
Riding Hood. An elephant seated. 



258 [G24] 



IMAGINATION AND INVENTION 



General Eesults, — (1) Speed of association. In 1920 trials, 
Dearborn found the average time for making a single associa- 
tion to a blot to be 10.3 sec. This seemingly long time may be 
due to the difflcvilt nature of some of the blots in his series. 

The children aged 8 to 14 tested by Pyle with the author's 
blots, but with the written response, averaged from 6.4 to 12.0 
responses in 3 min. His adults averaged 10. G for the men and 
9.8 for the women. 

(2) Dependence on age. Kirkpatrick states that "younger 
children seemed more suggestible or imaginative, as they named 
more spots" (Table 128). Pjle's tables sIioav a similar tendency. 

TABLE 128 
Average Ntiniher of 'Names' Given to Ink-Blots {Kirkpatrick) 



GRADE 


I 


II 


III 


IV 


V 


VI 


VII 


VIII 


Average 


2.9 


2.5 


2.6 


1.8 


1.9 


1.7 


2.1 


2.2 



It is evident tliat something besides a simple decline of 'imagination' 
with age is exhibited in this table. In explanation, Kirkpatrick says : "The 
younger children seemed to have no doubt whatever of the spot being a 
picture of the object they named, while the older children simply said 'it 
is some like' or 'it looks a little like,' 'a dog,' 'cloud,' or whatever else 
was suggested. This superiority of the small children is striking when 
we consider that the number of mental images that they have is much 
smaller than that possessed by older children, who may name a part of 
the body or the map of a country or something else that the younger 
children know nothing about. 

"The smaller number of ob.jects seen in the spots by the children of the 
4th, 5th, and 6th grades is probably to be explained by the fact that 
children of those ages have become more critical in their sense-perception, 
as their ideas have become more definite, and as they have learned from 
life's experiences and from training to be more careful in their judg- 
ments. The older pupils of the 7th and 8th grades, on the other hand, 
have passed into another stage in which they realize that a picture Is 
not necessarily this or that, but may resemble any one of several things, 
hence they are not afraid to say what it looks like." 



(3) Dependence on occupation. Dearborn believes that, at 
least in maturer /8"s, the results of the inkblot test are condi- 
tioned, not so much by age or sex directly, as by habits of living, 
occupation, and other environmental factors: thus, we should 



TEST 45 : INK-BLOTS [625] 259 

expect characteristically different results from the test when 
applied, for example, to artists, farmers, laborers, professional 
men, to the city-bred or the country-bred, etc. 

(4) Dependence on race. Pyle's averages (5b) show that 
negroes are nearly as good as Avhites in the ink-blot test. 

(5) Individual differences, both in speed, number and type 
of association seem to have been been clearly marked and fairly 
constant, whenever the test has been applied. Thus, in Dear- 
born's single-association method, the highest agreement in the 
answers of his /S's for any one card was but 40 per cent., while 
for several cards, no two >S"s gave the same answer. 

As regards fertility of imagination. Miss Sharp noted that 
the most imaginative 8 in her group saw 81 objects, the least 
imaginative but 27 objects in the same 10 blots. The same in- 
vestigator believes, however, that all /S"s might be roughly di- 
vided into two groups, [a] the constructive or imaginative, 
who put together concrete details "in such a way as to form 
a significant whole,'' and (&) the matter-of-fact, or scientific 
type, given more to analysis than to creative synthesis.^ 

As examples of this difference, the following reports from two of Miss 
Shai'p's S's may be quoted : both refer to the same blot. 

(1) Associations few and non-constructive. "An eagle. Stuffed tur- 
key. Head and neck of a musk-rat." 

(2) Associations numerous and constructive. "Giraffe. Prehistoric 
bird in flight. Fairy riding on a bumble-bee. Bit of tropical jungle, with 
trailing gray mosses and pools of water. Japanese lady. Bit of land- 
scape with two hills and a valley between — an army encamped under one 
hill. Moss-grown log floating in water. Fabulous monster (griflin per- 
haps) walking off on his hind legs with a small Hottentot under his 
arm." 

(6) Qualitative classification. It is often possible to classify 
the associations peculiar to a given 8. Thus, Miss Sharp men- 
tions as classificatory grouj^s: («) common-place, every-day 
objects, such as domestic utensils, tools, plants, and particu- 
larly animals, {I)) scientific objects, such as geometric figures, 
schematic drawings, (c) objects suggested by literary remi- 
niscence, and (fZ) objects from fable and mythology, such as 



^It is tempting to regard this classification as identical with the com- 
mon classification of laboratory S's into 'subjective' and 'objective' ob- 
servers. 



200 [G2G| IMAGINATION AND INVENTION 

centaurs, dragons, witches, fairies, etc. Some /S's exhibit va- 
riety of association, in that tliey cite objects that belong to 
several of these groups ; others are much less fertile in imagina- 
tion and confine themselves largely to a single type of imagery. 

REFERENCES 

(1) A. Binet et V. Henri, La psychologie mclividuelle. AnPs, 2: 
1S95 (1896), 411-465, especially 444. 

(2) G. Dearborn, Blots of ink in experimental psj'cliology. PsR, 4: 
1897. 390-1. 

(3) G. Dearborn, A study of imaginations. AmJPs, 9: 1898, 183^190. . 

(4) E. Kirkpatrick, Individual tests of school cliildreu. PsR, 7: 
1900, 274-280. 

(5) W. I-I. Pyle, (a) The examination of school children. New York, 
1913, pp. 33-35. (?>) The mind of the negro child. Scltool and Society, 1 : 
1915, 357-360. 

(6) Stella E. Sharp, Individual psvchologv : a study in psvchological 
method. AmJPs, 10 : April, 1899, 329-391. 

TEST 46 

Linguistic invention. — The ink-blot test serves primarily as 
a test of visual imagery. But an even more fruitful source of 
individual differences in creative ability may be found in lin- 
guistic invention. Miss Sharp, acting upon the suggestions of 
Binet and Henri, tested what she terms 'literary imagination,' 
in three ways, viz. : by the development of sentences, by the de- 
velopment of a given theme, and b}'^ the choice of a topic for 
composition. 

The idea of presenting a number of words to be joined into 
a sentence has been elaborated in various Avays. The assign- 
ment of three words was employed by Masselon in 1902, and 
this test has, on that account, been referred to by some writers 
as the "Masselon method." It forms one test in the well-known 
Binet-Simon series, and was one of the tests used by Miss Sharp 
in her investigation of the mental types of adult ^'s. The re- 
duction of the number of terms supplied, to two has been 
strongly recommended by Meumann, who selected the two terms 
in a special manner (see below), while another variation of 
the two-word test has been tried by Burt and by W.yatt, in 
which ^ is given a series of 10 words to be joined together suc- 
cessively, by pairs, in a series of sentences. On the other hand, 
the number of terms has been increased to 5, 8 or 10 with the in- 



TEST 40: LINGUISTIC INVENTION [627] 26L 

struction to invent a story containing the prescribed words 
(invention of stories). This method evidently stands midway 
between the method of sentence-formation and the method of 
development of a theme, while by a little further extension the 
well-known Ebbinghaus completion method (Test 48) is 
reached. It needs little reflection to understand that the 
nature of these various tests becomes decidedly varied as the 
number and nature of the supplied terms is varied. 

The method of completing a prose passage in which a large 
amount of the original text is supplied is embodied in Test 48. 
The present test includes the method of sentence-formation 
known as Masselon's method, the method of sentence-formation 
devised by Meumann, the completion of sentences used by Binet, 
the invention of stories, and the development of a theme. 

Before undertaking these formal tests, however, it is desir- 
able, if the purpose in mind is to make a qualitative study of 
the mental type of individual ;S^'s, to institute a preliminary 
inquiry concerning the general literary tastes and habits of 
each *S'. The exact nature of this inquiry must, naturally, be 
adapted to the age and training of the /S's : the following are 
some of the points that have been covered by investigators : (1) 
list of favorite books, (2) statement of favorite type of reading, 
(3) statement of the magazines, periodicals, newspapers, etc., 
ordinaril}^ read, (4) list of books (outside of classroom or pro- 
fessional work) read during the last year, (5) statement of 
favorite games and evidence of enjoyment of games, like chess 
and checkers, that demand creative activity and foresight, (6) 
fondness for the theater, drama, music, painting and other 
forms of art, etc., (7) experience in creative literary work. 

A. SENTENCE-FORMATION (mASSELON METHOD) 

Method. — Ask *S' to write as many sentences as possible con- 
taining the three nouns : citisen, horse, decree. Each sentence 
must contain all three nouns, though it may contain others as 
Avell. The sentences are to be as varied as possible. Five min- 
utes are allowed. Continue the test with four more sets of 
nouns, and afterward make similar tests with live sets of verbs. 



262 [628] IMAGINATION AND INVENTION 

For the noun tests, use as additional sets: (2) lell^ ground, 
owner, (3) skilly modification, picture, (4) cup, fraction, money, 
(5) letter, law, summer. For verbs use {!)' Mess, destroy, 
lorite, (2) make, correspond, remain, (3) require, choose, run, 
(4) see, find, throw, (5) remember, put, depart. In the noun 
tests, 8 is permitted to use either singular or plural forms, and 
possessive as well as nominative or objective cases; in the verb 
tests, he may use any form of the given verb, e. g., blessed, to 
bless, tvill bless, etc., as well as bless. 

The tests may be conducted with individuals or with groups; 
but it is preferable, especially with young >S"s, to work indi- 
vidually and to let ^ dictate the sentences instead of writing 
them. 

Treatment op Data. — The quantitative score is determined 
by averaging the number of sentences written by S. The qual- 
ity of work may be graded upon any convenient scale, e. g., 1 to 
5, corresponding to five degrees of excellence. Miss Sharp used 
the symbols A, B, and G, and indicated intermediate grades by 
the use of — and +• For purposes of computation, she then 
assigned numerical values to these symbols, as follows : A — 
= 40, A = 50, A + = 60, B— = SO, B = 100, B+ = 120, (7— 
= 160, C = 200, G -{- ^ 240. In practise, this scoring is vir- 
tually equivalent to estimating quality of work in terms of aver- 
age number of words per sentence, and that simpler method 
may be used for the qualitative score. 

Typical Results. — (1) The following are selected single sen- 
tences reported by Miss Sharp for the first test : 

1. "Decrees are made for citizens, not for liorses." (1'he connection 
of the words here is simple and meelianical. ) 

2. "That stalwart citizen on the great gray horse is a man to be 
trusted with the decree." (This implies a concrete situation.) 

3. "All the well-to-do citizens of the village, each mounted on a horse, 
rode through the streets, proclaiming their dissatisfaction with the new 
decree." (A situation is here more fully outlined.) 

(2) The following is a full set of sentences written by a 
graduate student, in 5 miii., for the first assignment: 

1. A decree was posted that the citizen should not abuse the horse. 

2. The horse of the citizen was sold by official decree. 

3. "Here," said the citizen, "is the horse mentioned in the decree." 



TEST 46 : LINGUISTIC INVENTION 



[629] 263 



4. Early in Arabian history, a decree raised to a biglier caste, a citizen 
who owned a horse, but later, possession was sufficient for better stand- 
ing, and the law was not needed. 

5. If a citizen keep a horse, it is a decree that he use it kindly. 

6. "What a funny decree," exclaimed the citizen, when he read of 
the horse sun-bonnet law. 

7. The decree was signed that the horse had kicked the citizen, and 
therefore the injured man could collect damages from the owner of the 
animal. 

8. "Time is up," cried the citizen, stop-watch in hand, "I hereby decree 
that you write the word horse and stop at once." [I'aulty on account of 
the use of 'decree' as a verb.] 

(3) The following represent groups of sentences written for 
the author by two college students (selected at random from a 
number of papers) for the fourth set of verbs. The relatively 
greater variety of the second group is clear. 

A. 1. "I saw the book and tried to find a place in which to throw it." 

2. "I threw the cat in the creek and turned to see if anyone had found 
me out." 

3. "I see that I can find nothing to throw at him." 

4. "You see, it was this way, I simply found the hatchet and threw it." 

B. 1. "The child saw a horse, found a stone and threw it at him." 

2. "When you find a clover, see if it has four leaves : if not, throw 
it away." 

3. "Throw the paper out of the window and see if it will find a good 
landing place." 

4. "Find me a pencil, then I will see if I can find out the solution to 
the problem which is on the paper that you threw into the basket." 

5. "The boy found an apple, but when he saw it was decayed, he 
threw it away." 

Conclusions.^ — (1) Dependence on part of speech assigned. 
All >8"s tend to write fewer, but better sentences with verbs 
than with nouns. 

TABLE 129 

Scores of Seven Adults in Developing Sentences (Shari)) 





QUANTITY OF WORK 


QUALITY OF WORK 




Average 


Maximum 


Minimum Average 


Maximum 


Minimum 


Nouns 'given'___ 4.6 
Verbs 'given'___ 3.8 


6.6 
5.8 


3.2 

2.5 


79 
93 


113 
133 


55 
54 



^These are all drawn from the work of Miss Sharp. 



204: [OoO] IMAGINATION AND INVENTION 

(2) The rank of >S?'s, both in qiialitj' and qnantity of work, is 
the same when nouns and when verbs are assigned. 

(3) "In general, the subjects who made the most sentences 
made the most elaborate, and those who made the fewest sen- 
tences made also the simplest and most unimaginative." 

(4) This test correlates Avith the ink-blot test, in so far as 
those ;8"s who show most constructive capacity with the blots 
also show most constructive capacity in the development of sen- 
tences. 

B. SENTENCE-FORMATION (mEUMANN's METHOD) 

The Masselon method, according to Meumann, is less Avell 
fitted to bring out differences in intelligence than his own 
method of presenting but two Avords, so selected that a number 
of different relations can be worked out between them, only one 
of Avhich, or at least only a few of AA'hich, can be regarded as 
being really ai)propriate, pertinent and sufficiently definite 
as to evince good sense and a real appreciation of the relation. 
This appropriate combination of the two words into a sentence 
is accomplished only Avhen ^ introduces a third relational ele- 
ment that supplies the 'point' needed to round out the thought. 

Method. — Explain to ^ that he is to make a sentence Avith 
each pair of Avords. By the aid of illustrative examples make 
it clear that there are two Avays in Avhich any pair could be 
joined, the one correct enough, perhaps, but banal and loose, 
the other logical, sensible and specific, and that the latter form 
is the one desired. For example, the Avords sitow — iiicUs could 
be rendered as "The snoAV melts" or as "SnoAv melts Avheii the 
Avarm sun shines on it." Again, the Avords square — sides could 
be rendered as "A square has sides" or as "A square has four 
sides of equal length." Similarly, from the pair auiomohlles — 
tires could be obtained ''Automobiles have tires" or "Auto- 
mobiles have pneumatic tires to make them ride easily." 

When these instructions have been grasped, give S the fol- 
loAving 10 pairs of terms and alloAv him all the time he desires 
to write one sentence of the 'pointed' type for each pair: (1) 
donkey — beatings, (2) soldiers — country, (3) city — streets, 
(4) sun — noon, (5) pine — Avinter, (6) drink — poverty, (7) 



TEST 46: LINGUISTIC INVENTION L^^'^l] -'^'^ 

eat— punished, (8) sky— red, (9) water— hill, (10) teacher- 
pleased.^ 

Results. — The following types of answers may be readily 
distinguished -.^ 

(a) The dictated words are written, but nothing else. 

(&) The given words are joined in a nonsense statement, e. g., 
''The city is a street." 

(c) A number of successive sentences are cast in a very sim- 
ple form which is the same in each, e. g., "A donkey has beat- 
ings." "Soldiers have a country." "A city has streets." 

(d) The written statement is incorrect, but such as to sug- 
gest that aS' had the glimmerings of an idea that failed of ex- 
pression, possibly on account of some difficulty in the use of 
language, e. g., "To drink is poverty." 

(e) The sentence is logically correct, but indefinite, too 
loose, general and banal, e. g., "A city has streets." 

(f) The words are combined into a specific statement, but 
one that is imaginative and not expressive of the correct con- 
nection, G. g., "Once upon a time there were three soldiers who 
lived in a beautiful country." 

{g) The sentence is definite, logical, correct and pertinent, 
embodying the right causal connection, e. g., "In the cit}^ the 
streets are wide and paved with brick." "Good soldiers are 
ready to die for their country." 

Notes. — The 'sentence-construction' or 'sentence-formation' 
test used by Wyatt and by Burt consists in presenting a series 
of 10 words such as circle^ moon, night., sleep, etc., each one of 
which is fairly obviously connected with the next and then 
allowing each ^S 2.5 min. to write a series of sentences connect- 
ing the successive terms by pairs, e. g., "The full moon has the 
form of a circle." "The moon shines at night," etc. Particular 
stress is laid upon the condition that the various sentences 



''The last two have been supplied by the author to replace less useful 
or more complex combinations in Meumann's list. 

"Although IMeumann concludes that any attempt to score this test 
quantitatively must be arbitrary, it would seem possible to attempt some 
immerical comparison of the work of different »S"s by assigning a scale of 
marks, like 0, 1, 2, etc., for these several qualitative degrees of perform- 
ance. 



266 [632] IMAGINATION AND INVENTION 

must show the ''closest possible connection." In practise this 
instruction is difficult to make clear, and the performance of 
>S"s is quite difficult to score precisely or fairly. The time con- 
sumed in writing also enters as a disturbing factor. Burt found 
for this test a coefficient of reliability of only .61, but a fairly 
high correlation with intelligence, 0.62. 

C. COMPLETION OP SENTENCES 

Materials. — Printed forms containing beginnings of 25 sen- 
tences,* with spaces for the completion of each sentence. Piece 
of white cardboard. Stop-watch. 

Method. — Give ^ the following instructions : ''On this paper 
there are printed the beginnings of a number of sentences. I 
am going to show these to you, one at a time. As soon as I show 
you one, I want you to finish out the sentence. You may say 
anj^thing you want to, as long as the whole sentence will make 
sense when you have finished it. Take an easy attitude toward 
the test. Don't try to hurry. Let the completion of the sen- 
tence develop naturally and freely, whether it is long or short." 
If S fails to understand what is wanted, supply him with an 
extra paper on which a few trial sentences have been written 
in pen and ink, and show him how they might be completed. 
For the test proper, cover the entire test-blank Avith the card- 
board : after a warning 'ready,' expose the first incomplete 
sentence." Start the watch at . the same time. Record as 
nearly as possible the time used by ^S in starting to complete 
the sentence, i. e., the time he takes, after he reads the sentence, 
to 'get an idea.' The timing should be done without >8"s knowl- 
edge. 

Variation of Method. — The printed forms are arranged to 
permit written tests, either of individuals or of groups. With 
groups the timing may be omitted without serious detriment. 



^Tlie first 20 sentences are taken, with such sliglit modifications as 
translation lias suggested, from Binet. The last five (since Binet prints 
but 20 of the 25 he recommends) have been supplied by the author. 
Other sets of incomplete sentences will be found in Weidensall or in 
Woolley and Fischer. 

■^The sentences have purposely been numbered from the bottom of the 
page, so that the cardboard will not interfere with S's writing. 



TEST iG : LINGUISTIC INVEXTIOX [G33] 2G7 

Some >S's give shorter, others longer sentences when the}' are 
written. 

TreatmExXt of Data. — Conipnte the average, or determine 
the distribution, of the times needed hv *S' to start the 25 sen- 
tences. For a qualitative index, estimate as well as possible 
(preferably by using some such system of scoring as that de- 
scribed in the development-of -sentences test) the general value 
of the completed sentences. >S*'s sentences may also, if desired, 
be classified in regard to type, e. g., vague or meaningless, com- 
monplace, reminiscential, imaginative, aphoristic, etc. 

A more elaborate system of scoring was attempted by Woolley 
and Fischer and followed by Weidensall in part. Records were 
kept of (1) number of sentences attempted, (2) number of 
sentences correct (in the sense of constituting a real sentence, 
even though there might be some mistakes of grammar), (3) 
number of simple and of complex sentences, (4) average num- 
ber of words written per sentence, (5) number of ideas expressed 
in the sentences, taken collective!}' (scored by a somewhat 
complex set of rules), (6) total time used in the test, (7) time 
used to start each sentence (classed in live groups, 0-2, 3-5, 6-10, 
11-20 and 21-60 sec), and (8) 'index' of ideas, obtained by 
dividing (6) by (5). Use is made in the published results, 
however, of only the 2d, 5th, Ttli and 8th of these scores. 

Results. — (1) Binet found characteristic differences in the 
speed of work of his two daughters, Armande and Marguerite. 
Thus Armande's records show 12 sentences started in less than 
5 sec, 4 sentences in from 5 to 10 sec, 6 in from 10 to 20 sec, 
1 in 28 sec, and 1 in 70 sec Marguerite's records, on the other 
hand, show but 1 sentence started in less than 5 sec, but 7 sen- 
tences in less than 10 sec, and the remainder in much longer 
times, e. g., 20, 50, and 70 sec 

(2) Binet's two /8"s also showed characteristic differences in 
the type of sentence-completion : Armande is poetic and imagi- 
native; Marguerite's sentences are more precise, more practical, 
more in accord with real life, less emotional. For example, for 
Sentence 1, Armande writes : ''I entered the field by a covered 
footpath." Marguerite writes : ''I entered the grocery and 
bought two cents worth of chocolate." 



268 [634] IMAGINATION AND INVENTION 

(3) The study of school children at Cincinnati by Woolley 
and Fischer brings ont the following points : (a) age is a factor 
of some moment, since 15-year-old pupils, when compared with 
14-year-old, show a decided improvement in number of correct 
sentences, a large increase in number of ideas expressed and a 
slight increase in the speed of beginning the sentences ; (6) sea; 
differences seem to favor the boys, who are somewhat superior 
to girls in correctness and somewhat quicker than girls in speed 
of beginning (there was no definite sex difference in number of 
ideas) ; (c) the test shows a large positive correlation with 
school grade attained by both sexes at both years, when per- 
formance is scored by any of the three measures — -number of 
correct sentences, number of ideas or speed of response. 

(4) Delinquents. The results obtained by Weidensall with 
Bedford Reformatory Avomen show that they are slower to 
respond than the Cincinnati girls, slower even than the Cincin- 
nati retarded girls. On the other hand, the number of correct 
sentences and the number of ideas expressed were, contrary to 
expectation, greater in the Bedford group; this outcome may 
be due to the conditions under Avhich the Bedford women were 
tested, or it may be connected, one may surmise, Avith the 
longer time taken in starting the sentences. At Bedford the 
ability to make correct sentences did not correlate Avith school 
grade attained before entering the institution, but the speed 
with which the sentences Avere started did correlate with the 
school grade ; in fact, the poorest *S"s took five times as long to 
start their sentences as did the more intelligent ones. 

D. INVENTION OF STORIES 

Test No. 26 of the Binet-Simon 1905 series called for the con- 
struction of a sentence containing three specified Avords. This 
test has been elaborated by Mrs. Squire by asking not for a 
sentence, but for a story about three words. The same test, 
with 5, 8 or 10 words given, has been used by Winch in his 
comparative study of memory for ideas and productiA^e imagi- 
nation. 

Meumann's someAvhat similar test consists in dictating a 
series of 'cue-Avords' or phrases, carefully selected as to nature 



TEST 46: LINGUISTIC INVENTION [635] 269 

and number, with the instructions to make a story from them. 
In this test the principles involved in selecting the Avords make 
the problem of a different sort from that involved in Winch's 
test; the conditions are rather more rigorously drawn, so that 
the number of satisfactory- solutions is smaller. In some re- 
spects, in fact, Meumann's test more nearly resembles the 
Ebbinghaus completion method (Test 48). 

Method. — (1) For young /8"s, ask for a story about a ioy, a 
river and a hall (Squire test). For children younger than 10, 
and better for yet older children, the story should be given 
orally and taken down verbatim by E. 

(2) Winch's instructions, as given in writing to a group of 
13-year-old >S"s, were as follows (8, p. 102) : 

"Write a story containing the following words : thief ^ land- 
lord, cral), shake, hotel, basket, cries, provisions, escape, custody. 

"You are to write the longest story you can, because the 
longer the story is, the more marks you will get, provided that 
everything you write has something to do with the story. You 
will get no marks at all for them and only be wasting your time 
if you write sentences which have no connection with the rest. 
Try and think out the story you are going to write before you 
start, and see that the progress of the story will enable you 
to fit all the words in properly." 

It is desirable to make more than one test of this sort. For 
this purpose, use may be made of one or more of the other lists 
of terms used by Winch'' with the same instructions as above. 
These lists are: (1) Orphan, garden, hungry, station, parents, 
clothing, visitor, cottage, train, country. (2) Snowstorm, chil- 
dren, ticket, clock, dog, screams, church, basket, river, ice. (3) 
Army, hill, artillery, victory, cavalry, fight, captured, brave. 
(4) For younger children (8-9 years) : dog, clock, basket, man, 
children. 

(3) For Meumann's test E must take a simple connected bit 



°It should be said that Winch's invention tests were applied to chil- 
dren who were also being tested in 'substance memory' with the aid of 
passages containing terms quite similar to those given as material for 
the invention. This had undoubtedly an effect upon the invented stories, 
though Winch asserts that "the invented stories are, almost invariably, 
on a much lower plane" (p. 101). 



270 [636] IMAGINATION AND INVENTION 

of prose depicting a total situation and reduce it to a series of 
salient cue-words. After giving one or more preliminary illus- 
trations, ^'s are requested to write a stor}^ based on the cue- 
words selected. The following is the set most successfully used 
by Meumann: house took pre — child alone — clever )nonl;cii — 
parents thankful — re ward. 

No time limit is set in any of these tests. aS"s should not be 
hurried. 

Treatment of Data. — Mrs. Squire contented herself with re- 
cording four degrees of performance in her three-word test : {a) 
complete failure, (5) separate sentence given for each word, 
(c) three words in one sentence, but the sentences [of the rest 
of the story?] unconnected, and {d) complete narrative. The 
outcome of this scoring is indicated below. 

Winch scored performance on the general basis of number of 
meaningful 'units' in the story, giving no allowance for any 
sentences or parts of sentences which did not arise connectedly 
from preceding sentences, but yet no penalizing for lack of 
esthetic unity (making every element in the story converge to a 
point). The aim is to rank the performance with regard to the 
"fertility of continuous and connected imagination" displayed 
in it.^ 

Results.^ (1) Dependence on age is shown in Mrs. Squires' 
results in the form of (a) "a development from the crude sen- 
tence strung together by 'ands' to a closely knit sentence," 
while (6) "another characteristic change is the transition from 
the fantastic type of story related by the 6, 7 and S-year-old 
children to the extremely realistic, matter-of-fact style employed 
by the 9th, 10th and 11th year groups," and (c) "another plan 
of invention, more flexible in style is evident in the stories of 
the 12th and 13th year groups." 

As applied in her mental age series, this test becomes roughly 
diagnostic as follows : the normal 6-,year-old can give orall}^ 
sentences containing the three words; abilitj^ to get all three 
words into one sentence, though with a disconnected story, 
would appear typical of 8 and 9-year-old children (though given 
by Binet as a 10-year test) ; ability to construct a complete 

'See his discussion, pp. 102-105, for further details. 



TEST 46: LINGU'ISTIO INVENTION [037] 271 

narrative as a realistic type is seen in the 9tli aud succeeding 
years, with a final level of flexibility and superiority of style 
appearing at 12 and 13 years. 

(2) Correlations. Winch found moderately high correla- 
tions, .55 to .75, between substance memory and the invention 
of stories, and that practise in substance memory, unless car- 
ried to the 'fatigue-point' (limit of training), tends to augment 
proficiency in invention. 

(3) ReliaMUty. The reliability of the test, as might be 
anticipated, is not very high, about .50, so that more than one 
trial is demanded for significant results. 

(4) Qualitative differences. Meumann found it somewhat 
difficult to score the work of school children in such a way as 
to distinguish fine degrees of intellectual ability, but he consid- 
ers the elaboration of the story from the cue-words a good test 
for revealing larger differences in general mental ability and 
also for revealing various mental types. In general, he finds 
eight fairly distinct tj'pes of story, 

(a) Zero performance; connections between the cue-words lacking or 
nonsensical. 

(6) The cue-words are connected in a number of separate and inde- 
pendent sentences. Here the grade of mental ability is sufticient to join 
together pairs of terms, but not to make the larger synthesis of all the 
terms into a whole. 

(c) Attempts are made to produce a whole, but the connections be- 
tween the various cue-words are not rightly arranged and the point of 
the whole story is not grasped. 

{d) The connections between the cue-words are rightly arranged, 
but the point of whole series of words is missed and the result is a story 
of a totally wrong 'turn.' 

Types a-d may be regarded as all indicative of lower stages of in- 
tellectual ability : the following four types, however, may be regarded 
as solutions of the problem, though of different kinds. 

(e) The ■pure imaginative type is illustrated by a story of astonish- 
ing richness of detail, with decided linguistic fluency, but with the real 
point either quite lost or badly distorted. jS"s of this type evince, then, 
little intelligence, but a rich imagination ; their endowment is perhaps ex- 
clusively linguistic. 

(f) The pure intellectual type is illustrated by a story in wliich the 
connections of the cue-words are correct and the point of tlie whole is 
correctly grasped, but its elaboration into a story is accomplished in the 
scantiest manner possible. S" is content to present the logical and fact- 
ually correct connection of the cue-words in the shortest possible manner. 

(g) The imaginative-emotional type is illustrated in stories that show 
evident presence of feeling, to give due expression to wliich ,S^ indulges 
in active imagination. He introduces invented details to express his 
emotional reaction. 

{h) The intellect ual-iniaginative type is illustrated by stories that 



272 [638] IMAGINATION AND INVENTION 

show clear grasp of the meaning of the whole supplemented by imagina- 
tive and pictorial additions, which are, however, always pertinent and 
subdued to the salient points in the. development of the story. 

For examples of these several types, consult Meumann (pp. 158-9) : 
a single one of them, that of Type f, may be repeated here : 
Story of Arthur W., 7th school year, age 12 years 9 months : 
"There was a house in the village : it took tire. The parents had just 
gone away. The child was all alone in the house. The people also had a 
clever monkey. He saved the child from the flames. And when the 
parents came home and saw that the monkej' had saved the child, they 
were thankful and gave him a reward." 

E. DEVELOPMENT OP A THEME 

Method. — Supply S with writing materials, and give him 10 
min. (or perhaps longer if working with young ^'s) to write 
upon some theme selected from the following: (1) The Death 
of a Dog, (2) The Capture of a Fortress, (3) The Escape of a 
Prisoner, (4) A Forest Fire, (5) The Mission of Music, (6) The 
Influence of Newspapers, (7) The Delays of Justice, (8) A Trip 
in a Flying Machine.^ 

Treatment op Data. — Quantity or speed of work may be 
reckoned with approximate accuracy b3' counting the number 
of words written in the assigned time; quality of work, which 
is realh' important, especially in the treatment of imaginative 
themes, must be estimated by E after a trial has shown what 
may be deemed poor, and what good work for ;S's of the age 
under investigation. Quality may be recorded in the manner 
already described, or upon the basis of 100, as in grading school 
compositions. 

Results. — (1) The relative number of ideas elaborated by 
different /S"s is indicated with fair approximation by the rela- 
tive number of words written, so that number of words may 
stand as a fair index of fluency of ideation and general lin- 
guistic readiness. 



*The first of these themes was used by Binet in his comparative study 
of the mental processes of his two daughters ; the next six were used 
for a similar purpose in Miss Sharp's study of university students — the 
first three of them being designed to involve imaginative, the second 
three expository treatment ; the last theme is suggested by the author 
as more suitable for younger »s''s. To secure a more reliable estimate 
of -S''s efficiency it is desirable that more than one theme should be de- 
veloped. 

This test lends itself readily to group treatment, since it involves a 
familiar type of school activity. 



TEST 46: LINGUISTIC INVENTION [G.39] 273 

(2) As a rule, more words are written upon imaginative tlian 
upon expository themes. Sharp's best >S' wrote in 10 min., on 
an average, 259 words upon imaginative, and 222 uijon exposi- 
tory themes; her poorest S wrote, on the average, 124 and 94 
words, respectively, for the same types of themes. 

(3) Those ;S"s that show constructive ability in the ink-blot 
test, and in the develojjment of sentences, also exhibit the same 
superiority here in the development of themes. 

Notes. — These tests of linguistic invention might, without 
great difficult}', be paralleled in other fields of constructive 
effort. A test of musical ability (of the creative sort) might, 
for example, be devised by asking >S"s to finish a partially given 
musical theme, or to construct a simple melod}- from a given 
series of notes. Similarly, certain forms of artistic invention 
might be tested by asking aS"s to sketch designs for wall-paper 
or patterns for Venetian iron-work. 

Miss Sharp's test of the choice of a theme was conducted by 
asking aS"s to select, from the following 10 themes, those five 
upon which they would prefer to write, if asked to do so : A. 
Imaginative themes, (1) In a ^nowstorin, (2) A Polar Land- 
scape, (3) A Puritan Hahhath, (4) Afy Opposite Xeighhor, (5) 
Man Endowed tcith the Power of Flight: B. Expository themes, 
(6) Civilization not Regeneration, (7) Wisdom in Charity^ (8) 
Friendship of Boohs, (9) Fiction as a Vehicle of Truth, (10) 
The Eloquence of the Bar and that of the Pulpit. The exposi- 
tory themes were generally preferred, but some /S^'s, who, as 
other tests showed, had little capacity to handle imaginative 
themes, did select several from the latter division. 

REFERENCES 

(1) A. Binet et V. Henri. La psychologie individuelle. AnPs, 2: 
1895 (1896), 411-4(J.5, especially 444. 

(2) A. Binet, L'etude experimentale cle 1 'intelligence. Paris, 1902. 
Pp. 309. Especially ch. x. 

(3) C. Burt, Experimental tests of higher mental processes and their 
relation to general intelligence. JEPd, 1 : 1911, 93-112. 

(4) R. Masselon, Psychologie des dements precoces. Paris, 1902. 

(5) E. Menmann. Ueber eine neue Methode der Intelligenzpriifung 
und liber den Wert der Kombinationsniethoden. ZPdPs. 13: 1912, 145- 
163. (Also Vorlesungen zur Einfiihrnngen in die experimeutelle Pada- 
gogik, 2d ed., Vol. 2 : 1913, 445-4.52.) 



274 [640] IMAGINATION AND INVENTION 

(G) Stella E. Sharp, Individual psychology: a study in psychological 
method. AmJPs, 10 : 1899, 329-391. 

(7) Carrie R. Squire, Graded mental tests. JEdPs, 3: 1912, 363-380, 
430-443, 493-506, especially 439-441. 

(7a) Jean Weidensall, The mentality of the criminal woman. To 
appear in EdPsMon. 

(8) W. H. Winch, Some relations between substance memory and 
productive imagination in school children. BrJPs, 4 : 1911, 95-125. 

(8a) Helen T. Woolley and Charlotte R. Fischer, Mental and phys- 
ical measurements of working children. PsMon, 18: 1914, No. 77. Pp. 
247, especially 185-212. 

(9) S. Wyatt, The quantitative investigation of higher mental proc- 
esses. BrJPs, 6 : 1913, 109-133. 



TEST 47 

Word-building. — The word-building test was suggested by the 
familiar game of anagrams, as well as by the advertisements 
often seen in magazines in which a prize is offered to the person 
who can make the most words from a given word or series of 
letters. This test is easily administered and evaluated; it is 
one that calls for ingenuity and active attention ; it might fairly 
be said to demand that ability to combine isolated fragments 
into a whole, which Ebbinghaus has declared to be the essence 
of intelligence and for the measurement of which he devised 
his well-known 'completion method' (Test 48) ; and finally, its 
execution is conditioned to a certain extent by the richness 
and readiness of the examinee's Avord-vocabulary. One may 
expect, therefore, to find a correlation between this test and the 
vocabulary test (No. 50), and possibly between it and school 
standing or general intelligence, and other tests of creative 
literary ability. 

In addition to the preliminary reports made by the author, 
the two tests proposed by him have been tried out by Pyle, 
Squire, Wyatt (with some modification) and most recently by 
Anderson, in an extended application to several hundred public 
school children at Ithaca carried out under the author's direc- 
tion for the purpose of supplying curves of percentile distribu- 
tion for performance in several tests. Heymans and Brugmans 
have used a similar test (making as many words as possible in 
10 min. from a given 10-letter word) in their study of the inter- 
correlations of various tests of intelligence. 



TEST 47: ■\voi{n-Buir,niXG 



'f;411 275 



Materials. — Two specially prepared blanks, the lirst of 
which calls for combination of words from the letters a^ e, o, h, 
lit, t, the second from the letters e, a, i, r, I, p. 

Method. — Provide ^ Avith the first test blank, and give him 
ihe following instructions: "Make as many words as you can 
from the six letters given on this blank. You may use any 
number of letters from one to six, but no letter may be used 
twice in the same word, and no other letters than these six 
are to be used. You will have five minutes." Conclude the test 
by use of the second blank under the same conditions. For 
comparison with the curves of distribution given here, both 
tests must be applied and in the order just mentioned. 

Treatment of Data. — Each word written in accordance with 
the rules counts one. To determine just what shall be termed 
a 'word,' the data secured by Anderson, upon which the curves 
that follow are based, was scored by following the division 
made upon each page of the 1910 edition of Webster's New 
International Dictionary, i. e., any word found above the line 
was admitted; any word found below the line (and hence rare, 
obsolete, dialectic, etc.) was excluded. ]No discount was at- 
tempted for possible instances in which legitimate words were 
hit on by mere accident. As a guide to scoring these tests, the 
lists of admitted words are reproduced here. 









aeoJ)mt-test 






a 


bam 


ea 


ma 


o 


tab 


ab 


bat 


eat 


Mab 


oat 


tambo 


Abe 


bate 


eta 


Mae 


om 


tame 


abet 


be 




mao 




tea 


am 


beam 




mat 




team 


arabo 


beat 




mate 




to 


at 


bema 




me 




toe 


ate 


bet 




meat 




Tom 


atom 


beta 




met 




tomb 




bo 




meta 




tome 




boa 




moa 








boat 




Moab 








bot 




moat 








bote 




mob 
mot 
mote 







276 [642; 



IMAGINATION AND INVENTION 









eairlp-test 






a 


ea 


I 


la 


pa 


Ra 


ai 


ear 


Ira 


lair 


pail 


Rae 


ail 


earl 


ire 


lap 


pair 


rail 


air 


ela 




lea 


pal 


rale 


al 


Eli 




leap 


pale 


rap 


ale 


epi 




Lear 


paler 


rape 


alp 


era 




lepra 


pall 


re 


ape 


eria 




lerp 


par 


Rea 


April 






liar 


pare 


real 


ar 






lie 


parel 


reap 


are 






lier 


pea 


rei 


Ariel 






lip 


peal 


rep 


aril 






lira 


pear 

pearl 

per 

peril 

pi 

pia 

pie 

pier 

pile 

plea 

iplier 


rial 
rip 
ripe 
rile 



Results. — (1) Norms are given in Tables 130 and 131 for the 
two forms of the test separately and so distributed as to show 
the average performance for each sex at each age. These norms 
have been compiled by combining the data obtained by Ander- 
son and by Pyle. Percentile distributions for the scores of the 
two tests added together are shown in Figs. 77 and 78. These 
curves have been derived from Anderson's data by subjecting 
the raw data to the process of numerical smoothing and by 
further smoothing the curves in the process of drafting them.^ 

TABLE 130 

Averages by Age and 8ex, aeobmt-Test {After Anderson and Pyle) 



SEX 


AGE 


8 


9 


10 


11 


12 


13 


14 


15 


16 


17 


18 


ADULTS 


Boys— 


Cases 


38 


86 


103 


112 


124 


134 


109 


85 


59 


49 


37 


70 




Aver. 


5.9 


9.0 


8.7 


10.5 


11.4 


11.5 


13.2 


15.3 


19.3 


17.0 


16.9 


18.4 


Girls— 


Cases 


48 


101 


128 


115 


141 


99 


118 


96 


94 


70 


53 


93 




Aver. 


7.0 


8.0 


10.8 


11.8 


13.2 


14.9 


15.0 


15.8 


15.8 15.9 


18.4 


20.9 



^See Cli. 3, p. 31, for these methods. 



TEST 47 : WORD-BUILUING 



[643] 277 



On account of the relatively small number of cases available 
for each curve, its topography must be regarded as somewhat 
provisional, though the error is presumably within one or two 
points. It will be understood that the minimal and maximal 
scores do not afford permanent standards of comparison. 

TABLE 131 

Averages hy Age and Sex, aeirlp-Test {After Anderson and Pyle) 



SEX 


AGE 


8 


9 


10 


11 


12 


13 


14 


15 


16 


17 


18 


ADULTS 


Boys 

Girls 


Cases 
Aver. 

Cases 
Aver. 


39 
5.5 

41 

6.5 


88 
7.3 

97 

7.7 


102 
8.3 

124 
10.2 


112 

10.6 

114 
11.5 


130 
11.5 

138 
13.3 


144 

12.6 

94 
14.7 


111 

13.9 

121 
16.2 


87 
16.2 

98 
17.4 


63 
17.0 

94 
17.7 


52 39 
19.3 16.4 

71 54 
18.0 19.3 


30 
21.8 

45 
21.4 



(2) Dependence on age. Mrs. Squire's conclusion that the 
correlation "between efficiency and maturity is not so complete 
as in many of the other tests" would seem to be based upon the 
examination of too few cases (10 of each age), for the aver- 
ages of Tables 130 and 131, with the single exception of that for 
the 9-year-old boys in the «eo6;nMest, show a progressive rise 
with age from 8 to 17 years, while adults are uniformly superior 
to the boys and girls of 17. The same thing is brought out 
in the combined results set forth in the curves : that for 9-year 
boys lies for the most part above that for 10-year boys. There 
is also a drop in the upper percentiles of 15-year-old girls that 
is difficult of explanation unless there has been some accidental 
selection of poor >S's in this group. 

(3) Dependence on sex. Comparison of the two tables and 
of the two charts makes it easily evident that girls, at least up 
to the age of puberty, are consistently superior to boj's and by 
an amount approximately equal to one year's advance. It 
follows that this sex difference must always be had in mind in 
the use of the norms and distributions for this test. 

(4) Dependence on race. Pyle's comparative study of whites 
and negroes (3a) shows clearly the inferiority of the latter in 
this test. In terms of general averages for all ages (in which 
there is, unfortunately, a certain element of unreliability owing 



2T8 [G44] IMAGINATION AND INVENTION 



./Y//Y /O 20 30 -4-0 SO 60 lO ao 90 /V/7X 




FIG. 77. PERCENTILES OF WORD BUILDING FOR BOYS. (Andei'SOIl) 



TEST 47 : WORD-BUILDING [645] 279 



MiM (0 2.0 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Mnx 



GO 






















.■iR 




















/ 


'T4 




















/ 


•i? 




















/ / 


fro 


















1 


// 


4FI 


















/ 

/ 


/// 


46 

44 


















V 


/'/ 
















/ 


// 


/ M 


■1? 














/ 


'/ 




n 


40 












/ 


x' 


V 


y 
y / 


/ / ' 










in 




x- 


/' y 


/ 


/ ' 










^ 


-^ 


/ 


/f-" 




/ / 


1 / 


.14 










'5 


y/ 




/ 

/ 


/ 




?)? 








> 


y^y 


' 


/ 




/ 




30 




/ 






/ 






/ 


// 


1 


?fl 




/ / 
/ / 


/ 


/ / 




/ 
/ 


/ 


/ 
/ 


/ 


1 


?fi 


/ 
// 




/ 


/ 


'> 


"X 


/ 


y / 




/ / 


?4 


/ / 


/ 






^^-^ 


/ 




/ 




// 


?P 




/ 


/ 


y 


y u 


^"^ 


/ 




/ 


//■ 


?i 


1 
/ 


/ 


^ 


/ y 


y 

^ 


// 






,;/ 




IB 


/ 
/ 


/ 


/y^ 




10, 


y" 




y 


/ 




l« 


/ 


! '^ 


/ 


y 


^ 




y^ 


/ 






14 




'// . 


/ 


y 




X 
y 


y 








IP 




v. 


■y^ 




5 




y 










/// 
/ 1 y 


r 




^"^ ^ 


>-^ 












8 


'1/' 




y^ 
















ill 
1 // 


<? 


















4 
? 






















1 / 
/ 











































FIG. 78. PERCENTILES OF WORD BUILDING FOR GIRLS. (Andei'SOIl) 



280 [646] IMAGINATION AND INVENTION 

to the unequal numbers of the two races tested at different 
ages), the male whites scored 10.8 words in the aeolmt-test 
and 11.3 words in the aeirlp-iest; the male negroes scored 5.2 
and 6.0 words for these tests, respectively. Similarly, the 
female Avhites scored 12 and 13 words against 5.9 and 5.1 for 
the female negroes in these same two tests. These differences 
are, of course, well outside of their probable error. 

(5) Individual differences are decidedly large in this test. 
Inspection of the charts, for example, will show that some ^S's 
at 9 are superior to some *S^'s at 17 and over. Similarh^, in the 
author's first trials of the aeohmt-test, 10 of his 36 grammar- 
school ^'s scored 15 words or over, Avhile 13 of his college stu- 
dents scored fewer than 15 words. This Avide-range distribu- 
tion of the scores is an obvious point in favor of the use of the 
method in diagnosis of individual status. 

(6) Frequency of different words. By examining the papers 
in detail, and tabulating the total number of words formed and 
the number of times each of these words is given, one may 
discern something of the principles which govern the operation 
of the test. The following are the data secured by the author : 

Test No. 1. 58 College Students. (43 Different Words.) 

Over 50 times — bat, mat, bet. 

40-49 times — eat, met, Tom, at, boat. 

30-39 times — meat, to, tea, beat, team, tab, ate, am, moat, mob. 

me, beam, toe. 
20-29 times — tame, oat, be, mate. 
10-19 times — boa, mote, bate, abet, tond), tome. 

5- 9 times — Mab, Abe, Mae, ma, atom, a. 

1- 4 times — bot, mot, o, JMoab, beta, bema. 

Test No. 1. 50 Grammar-Grade Boys. (38 Different Words.) 

Over 40 times — mat, bat. 

30-39 times — bet, at, met. 

20-29 times — to, eat, Tom, beat, tea, meat, be, am, boat, 

10-19 times — toe, mob, beam, me, ate, team, tab, boa, oat. 



TEST 47 : WORD-BUILUING [^'1'^] 281 

5- 9 times — ma, bate, a, moat, mot, tame, mate, bot. 
1- 4 times — tam, tomb, Abe, mote, Moab, Mae, o. 
Not given — those not given by college students, plus abet, atom, 
bema, beta, Mab, tome. 

Test No. 2. 69 College Students. (59 Different Words.) 

Over 60 times — lip, lap. 

50-59 times — rip, rap, pear, ear, real, pie, leap, rail, pale, reap, 

40-49 times — pail, pile, ale, pair, are, ape, lie, pea, peal. 

30-39 times — pare, earl, pearl, air, par, lair, ripe, liar. 

20-29 times — ail, Lear, rape, ire, pal. 

10-19 times — lea, pa, rile, pire, era, pier. 

5- 9 times — per, a, alp, Eli, plea. 

1- 4 times — I, paler, peril, lira, rep, rale, ra, April, Ira, la, pi, 
Rea, Rae. 

Inspection of these lists shows (a) that three-letter words 
are in every instance those most frequently formed, (6) that 
two-letter words and the one-letter words, which one might 
expect to be most frequent since most simple, stand relatively 
low, e. g., ma, he, am, pa, me, a, o, I,- (c) that grammar-school 
boys give all the words given by college students save a few 
rather unusual terms such as atom and tome, (c?) that usage 
and ordinary speaking vocabulary condition the formation of 
words, in as much as the most ordinary words have the greatest 
frequency, e. g., hat, mat, det, eat. Up, lap, whereas words that 
are less frequently used in every-day speech, although their 
meaning is doubtless perfectly well known, do not suggest them- 
selves so readily under the conditions of the test, e. g., tomb, 
tome, era, plea, paler, (e) that the words not given by any one 
are, with one or two exceptions, e. g., plier, words of extremely 
rare usage or unusual form, alternative spellings, etc. 

(7) Reliability. Wyatt found a coefficient of reliability of 
.88 between the results for two different arrangements of the 



-It appeared, upon inquiry, tliat some of the college students had 
omitted words lilce pa. ma, a, o, and I on the ground tliat they were 'not 
real words,' or 'didn't count,' but, oftener, they seem to have been passed 
over because the attention was concentrated upon the malving of com- 
binations. 



282 [048] IMAGINATION AND INVENTION 

letters aeohmt. A sample group of 46 cases from Anderson's 
data gave a reliability of .74, P.E. .07, when the aeo6»(t-test 
and the eairlp-test were compared. The word-building test is 
seen, therefore, to possess a good degree of reliability. 

(8) Correlations. Hej^mans and Brugmans found positive 
correlations of from .12 to .76 betw^een word-building and five 
other tests of imagination (puzzle picture, .35, solving riddles 
.24, arrangement of syllables .70-, jig-saw puzzles .12, Binet's 
paper-cutting test .47). Wyatt's corrected correlations with 
word-building gave with analogies .93, with the completion test 
.97, with the part-wlioles test .99. The raw correlations for his 
two groups of >8"s were for analogies .54 and .65, for the comple- 
tion test .36 and .70, and for the part-whole test .36 and .77. He 
also found raw correlations of .39 and .52 for a test of sentence- 
construction, a correlation of .47 with interpretation of fables, 
but no correlation with the letter-square test. 

The author found no correlations between w^ord-building and 
class standing in the case of grammar-school pupils and the 
insignificant correlation of .13, P.E., .08, in the case of 58 col- 
lege students. Terman, however, found his stupid boys gener- 
alh^^ inferior to his bright boys. 

(9) Conditioning factors. Age, sex and general intelligence 
are not the only factors that affect the outcome of this test. 
Thus Terman remarks : "Much depends, of course, upon the 
vocabulary at command, and this in turn depends largely upon 
home training and amount of habitual reading as w^ell as upon 
native retentiveness. A second factor is ability to spell, and 
habits of word analysis generall3\ Very important, also, is the 
use of a rational plan ; some skipped about and made combina- 
tions at random, while others took the letters one by one and 
joined them in as mau}^ different ways as possible with the 
others. Lastly, the rate of shifting of attention, and the degree 
of mental inertia as opposed to spontaneity, also contribute to 
the result" (5, p. 342). 

REFERENCES 

(1) E. J. Anderson, Standardization of some mental tests. (Study 
from tlie Cornell University Educational Laboratory, as jet unpub- 
lisbed.) 



TEST 48 : EBBINGHAUS' COMPLETION-METHOD [049] 283 

(2) G. Heymans uud H. Brngmans, Intelligenzpriifungeu mit Stu- 
dierenden. ZAngPs, 7: 1913, 317-331. 

(3) W. II. Pyle, The examination of school children. New York, 
1913. Pp. 70. Especially 22-24. 

(3a) W. H. Pyle, The mind of the negro child. l^cJiool and Soclefij. 
1: 1915, 357-360. 

(4) Carrie R. Squire, Graded mental tests. JEdPs, 3: 1912, 3G3-380, 
430-443, 493-506, especially 441-442. 

(5) L. M. Terman, Genius and stupidity : a study of some of the intel- 
lectual processes of seven 'bright' and seven 'stupid' boys. PdSe, 13 : 
1906, 307-373. 

(6) G. M. Whipple, Vocabulary and word-building tests. PsR, 15: 
1908, 94-105. 

(7) S. Wyatt, The quantitative investigation of higher mental proc- 
esses. BrJPs, 6 : 1913, 109-133. 

TEST 48 

Ebbinghaus' completion method. — In July, 1905, the vschool 
authorities of Breslau requested certain persons, among them 
Professor H. Ebbinghaus, to undertake a scientific investiga- 
tion of the fatigue-effects of the continuous five-hour session 
then in vogue in that cit3^ In the course of this investigation 
Ebbinghaus devised and applied, in conjunction with other 
tests, what he termed the ^ComMnationsmethode' (since re- 
ferred to bv Elsenhans as the ^completion-method' and bv others 
as the mutilated text or missing-words test).^ 

The author of the method says in substance : Mental ability 
demands not merely retentive capacity, readiness of recall, or 
facile association of specific past experiences; it demands all 
this and something more, something more complex and, as it 
were, creative; namely, the ability to combine, into a coherent 
and significant whole, mutually independent and even seem- 
ingly contradictory impressions. In short, intelligence is essen- 
tially a combinative activity. To measure intelligence, there- 



^Meyer has pointed out the inaccuracy of the translation "combination- 
method," which has been current for some time. The German Co)n- 
Jjinationsgahc is not a talent for combination, hut an ability to "put two 
and two together," or, to use Meyer's explanation, "a talent for drawing 
conclusions from premises which do not very readily present themselves 
to a man's consciousness as items of a unitary logical thought, but which, 
as soon as they are combined, suggest the conclusion very forcibly." This 
is quite true, but the author can not see that jNIeyer has improved mat- 
ters by advocating the translation "conjectural method." To conjecture 
is to surmise, to guess, to form a tentative opinion, inferentially. Tech- 
nically, the activity in the Ebbinghaus test might be labelled 'redintegra- 
tion,' but, as this term is somewhat clumsy, the designation 'completion 
method' seems entirely adequate. 



284 [050] IMAGINATION AND INVENTION 

fore, we must employ a test that demands ability to combine 
fragments or isolated sections into a meaningful whole. Such 
a test may be afforded by mutilated prose, i. c, bj' eliding let- 
ters, syllables, words, or even phrases, from a prose passage 
and requiring the examinee to restore the passage, if not to its 
exact original form, at least to a satisfactory equivalent of it. 

On account of the enthusiastic statements of Ebbinghaus, 
Avho characterizes this method as ^*a real test of intelligence," 
and as "a simple, easily applied device for testing those in- 
tellectual activities that are fundamentally important and sig- 
nificant both in the school and in life," the test has assumed 
some prominence. 

The classification of this method in a system of tests is not 
always eas}-, for the simple reason that what mental processes 
it demands depends almost entirelj' upon the number and 
kind of elisions that are made in the text. To take extreme 
cases, if the elisions are numerous and sweeping, it may be- 
come really a linguistic puzzle of a very difficult variety, and it 
then belongs rather in the group of tests of active or creative 
imagination of the literary type; if, on the other hand, the 
elisions are but few and simple, it may degenerate into a sim- 
ple test of controlled association of any desired degree of ease. 
Again, if the original text be first read to the examinee, as 
some, e. g., Elsenhans, suggest, the test becomes in the main a 
test of associative recall, %. e., a form of memory test. 

Since the elision of a single letter may, in some circum- 
stances, very considerably increase the difficulty of the test, it 
follows that, without extensive preliminary trials, it is well- 
nigh impossible to prepare a series of texts of equivalent difii- 
culty, or to insure that the several sections within a given text 
present equivalent difficult3\ 

That these difficulties in the preparation of the text are real 
and serious is attested bj^ the unanimity with which they are 
expressed by all investigators. They have led some experi- 
menters to question Avhether the method did, after all, get at the 
mental activity it was designed to call forth, but the trend of 
opinion has been on the whole distinctly and even enthusi- 
astically in favor of the test. 



TEST 48 : EBBINGHAUS' COMPLETION-METHOD [051] 285 

The following is a suiiiple section of text as nsed by Ebbinghaus and 
other German investigators : the dotted lines indicate the position and 
approximate length of the omissions. 

Belagerung Kolbergs. 1807. 

"Da der Feind fortf an. . . .neuen Schanze am Sandwege. . . . 

angestr Eifer zu so hatte unser neuer Kommandant 

gleich ersten Nacht Hierseins einen Aus dieselbe 

angeardnet," etc. 

Terman elided, in the main, whole words, instead of syllables, on the 
ground that the word is a more natural unit of language than the 
syllable, and that ability to supply missing syllables will, in the case of 
school children, depend largely on the extent to which word-analysis has 
been taught in the schools : this varies in different school systems and 
even in different classes of the same system. 

Materials. — Stop-watch, or for group work, the special sec- 
onds clock is recommended. Four printed texts. [If all four 
texts are to be used for the test, E should prepare a short sam- 
ple piece of mutilated text, say three or four lines, which may 
be typewritten, or placed on the blackboard for group work, 
and used for demonstration and preliminary trial. If one of 
the texts is not used, this may serve the purpose.] 

Text No. 1, prepared by the author, has been used by him in 
tests upon college students and by Mrs. Squire in tests upon 
school children. It contains 100 elisions, including some in 
which, in accordance with Ebbinghaus' plan, portions of words 
as well as entire words are elided. 

Text No. 2, taken from Terman (18), has been used by Wyatt 
in tests upon English school children; it contains 93 elisions. 

Text No. 3 is designed especially for use after a preliminary 
reading of the entire completed form. It is taken from Ter- 
man and contains 100 elisions. 

Text No. 4, taken from Terman and Childs (19), and not 
here reproduced, is substantially the same passage as No. 2, 
but the elisions are made upon a new plan, such that there are 
four sections representing four different degrees of elision. In 
the first section 33, in the second 45, in the third 54 and in the 
fourth 66 per cent, of the original material is elided. This text 
demands a special system of scoring. In use in the author's 
laboratory it has been found that the second and third blanks 
are peculiarly unfortunate: they are too difficult and tend to 



286 [052] IMAGINATION AND INVENTION 

produce discouragement and confusion at the outset. Many 
adults also find the fourth section easier than the third, despite 
the greater amount of elision in it. However, the text has been 
retained as presented by its authors on account of the norms 
published for it by them. 

The reader who desires to try yet other texts will find eight 
of them in Simpson (16, pp. 119-121). 

In the reproductions here given, italics indicate the elisions in the 
printed text. 

Text No. 1. 
Where the Dandelions Went. 

Whe)i Willy teas two years old, he lived in a red farm-ho«se with a 
yard in front of it. The dandelions were very thick there; so that the 
yard looked yellow instead of green. 

One bright day Willy's mamma pvit on his straw hat and sent him out 
into the yard to ^j?«2/. She knew the yard had a high fence; and he 
could not open the gate; so he u-as safe. V^hen it icas time for him to 
have a nap and she went to call him, she noticed that a great many of 
the dandelions icere gone. She wondered where they were; but, as Willy 
could not talk much, she did not ask him about them. 

A short time after, while he was asleep in his crib, 7(/,s' mamma went 
out to draw some yvater. When the bucket came up full of icater, the 
top was all jelloio with dandelions. 'Lools.ing down into the well, she 
could see no water at all, only dandelions. 

It teas no wonder, then, where the hloBSoms had gone. Willy had been 
very busy, trying to All up the well. 

Text No. 2. 
The Strength of the Eagle. 

One day the eagle n:ent with the other birds to see whicli could fly the 
highest. Ttiey agreed that he who could fly the highest should he called 
the strongest bird. All started at the same tiine and flew away among 
the clouds. One by one they grew weary and returned, but the eagle flew 
upward and upward until he was a mere speck in the heavens. When he 
came back, the others were ivaiting for him ; and when he touched the 
ground a linnet fiew off his back where lie had been hidden and said 
that he himself icas the strongest bird. "7 am stronger than the eagle," 
said the linnet, "for not onli/ did I fly as high, but it-hen he began his 
downward flight, I left my hiding jtlace and flea: up a little higher." At 
this boastful speech the others shook their heads and called a council to 
decide the matter. After a long debate they decided that the eagle was 
the strongest bird, for not only did he fly so high, but he carried the 
linnet as well. 

To this day the plumes of tlie eagle are emblems of strength and 
courage. 

Text No. 3. 
Why the Mole is Blind. 

An Indian once chased a squirrel into cloud/r/;if/. Then he set a trap 
for him, laughing to think how lie would catch him. The squirrel did 



'J'l'^ST -i(S : EBIUNGHAUS* COMPr.KTION-METIiOI) 1(15:]] 2S7 

not come back, but ithm! tbe sun on his daily rouiicis fell right iiilo the 
trap. 

When the bright sunlight did not come, the Indian began to be uneasy, 
and when he found Jiis trai) had the sun fast he did not know what to do. 

He tried to get near enough to loosen the cords, but the heat from the 
sun scorched him and he gave it np. 

Then he coaxed many animals to try it, but they all found the sun too 
7iO^. At last the moZe satcL- "I will dig through the ground under the 
trap and so get at the cords." 

This he did and the sun leaped up into the heavens. 

But it went so quickly that i/ie poor }».oZe comZ(? not get away, and the 
heat of /7;e s»n />»/ out his eyes. 

Since then the moles have had /o live in dark places, and unless one 
7ooA;s very closely he cwh jioi find /7«e/r eyes. 

Method. — Provide ^ with a demonstration or practise text 
(either one of the three regular texts not to he used subse- 
quentl}' — except that Text 2 should not be used if 4 is to 
follow — or the special samx^le prepared by E). Explain the 
nature of the test, in accordance with the directions printed on 
the test-blanks. It is well, in addition, to suggest that, in case 
a certain elision offers special difficulty, it may be temporarily 
passed by, since the correct interpretation of the context fur- 
ther on will often give the necessary cue for the omitted elision. 

When it is clear that 8 understands the conditions, proceed 
with the test proper. If but one trial is to be made, use Text 2 
or 4 with a 10-min. limit. If more than one, follow with Text 
1, using the work-limit method. 

Record the time and make notes of the manner in which S 
undertakes the test. Does he read it all over first? Does he 
work systematically? Attentively? With confidence or hesita- 
tion? Does he grasp the general thread of the story? 

Variations of Method. — (1) To conduct the test with the 
memoiw feature, employ Text No. 3, which is specially devised 
for that purpose. After the preliminary trial, read the unmu- 
tilated text for No. 3, entire, to S. Then supply him with the 
No. 3 test-blank and proceed as before. The text may be read 
more than once, or an}' desired time-interval may be introduced 
between the reading and the execution of the completion. Other 
variations will suggest themselves, e. g., auditory, visual, or 
auditor} -visual reading, etc. 



288 [654] IMAGINATION AND INVENTION 

(2) To approximate the conditions observed by Brown, Wyatt 
and otliers, give S opportunity (say three to five minntes) to 
examine the text before filling it out. This variation of method 
obviously changes the character of the test considerably: it 
tends to greater uniformity in the mental processes of the 8'b, 
but it removes the differentiation which the standard method 
conserves in that some S"s are quick to see the necessity of 
looking over the text ahead of their work while others are not. 

(3) The Ebbinghaus test lends itself rather well to group 
tests. With Texts 1, 2 and 3 the use of the author's seconds- 
clock- is recommended. If, however, the time-limit method is 
followed, the limit must be so chosen that the fastest S in the 
groups under comparison can but just complete the work. 
For adults, 7 min. may be emploj'ed for Texts 1 and 2, a shorter 
time for Text 3. Text 4, it should be noted, is devised to be 
scored by the time-limit method only. For it Terman and 
Childs specify 15 min. Unfortunately, this time is too long for 
some high-school students, as investigations in the author's 
laboratory have shown ; in fact, even when the time is shortened 
to 10 min., a few pupils (about 2 per cent.) will finish before 
that time is up. 

Treatment of Data. — Text 4, as already mentioned, is used 
with a constant time-limit (15 min., according to its origina- 
tors, but preferably 10 min., according to the author's expe- 
rience). It is scored by assigning for each correctly filled 
blank 6 units in Section I, 8 units in Section II, 10 units in 
Section III and 13 units in Section IV. The total score is then 
divided by 10 and amounts to 100 (exactly, 100.2). One-half 
the above credits are given if the inserted words "make a well- 
connected story," but are '^related in only a moderate degree 
to the thought that should have been given." No credit is given 
for inserted words that make no sense in their setting nor for 
words that make a continued story which is ''purely literary 
invention, having no connection with the thought given by the 
printed words." Thought is ''considered rather than elegance 
in diction." ^ 



=See Vol. I, p. 9. 

Tor samples, see Terman and Cbilds, pp. 201-202. 



TEST 48 : EBBIXdltAUS* COMPLETiOX-METFIOD [055] 2S0 

For Texts 1, 2 aud 8 there are three possible methods of scor- 
ing. For adults, working individually with these texts, the 
qualit}^ of the Avork is usually so good that speed alone may be 
used as an index of eflficiency. 

Secondly, speed may be neglected and attention given only 
to quality (in which case the instructions should be modified 
to indicate that S may 'take his time'). An example of this 
method may be seen in the work of Burt, who graded the worth 
of each inserted word on a s^^stem of 6 points, to 5. 

Thirdly, speed may be combined with quality, and in one of 
two ways. The quality may be determined and related to speed 
by means of formulas like those developed for the cancellation 
test (No. 26). Or, again, the time-limit method may be fol- 
lowed and the work scored by the plan proposed hj Ebbinghaus 
himself and used by Krueger and Spearman, Brown, Wyatt 
and others. Here quantity and quality of work are computed 
as follows: (1) Give a credit of 1.0 for each elision filled in in 
any manner. (2) Give a debit of 0.5 for each elision unfilled 
in any manner. (3) Give a debit of 1.0 for each elision filled in 
such a manner as not to make sense, or for each word intro- 
duced in excess of the number called for by the lines that indi- 
cate elisions (or, if desired, also for each word that is quite 
obviously too short or to long for the space assigned for comple- 
tion, even though the passage 'makes sense').* For quantity of 
work done, add (2) and (3) and subtract the sum from (1). 
For quality of work done, compute the relation in per cent, of 
the same sum to (1) . 

Typical Results. — The following is a sample of the work of 
a boy, 11 years old, one of Terman's "bright" group, who 'com- 
pleted' Text 2, with the exception of three elisions, in 26 min- 
utes. He was quick, steady, and looked ahead. 

"One day an eagle went with the other birds to see who could fly the 
highest . . . (Next three sentences correct) . . . When he came 
back the others were waiting for him ; and when he touched the ground 
a linnet flew off his back where the thief had hidden and said that he 
himself was the strongest bird. "I am stronger than you are." said the 
linnet, "for not alone did I fly as high, but as he began flying downward, 
then I left my hiding place and flew up a little higher," etc. 



■•Cohn and Dieffenbacher penalized only 0.5 for errors in the length of 
the inserted word. 



290 [656] 



IMAGINATION AND INVENTION 



The folloAviiig is a sample of the work of a boy of the same 
age, one of Terman's "stupid'' group, who worked for 25 min- 
utes at the same text. Save in one or two easy sections, his 
'completions' make no sense at all. He Avorked by phrases only. 

"One witli the eagle and with the small birds and see who could fly 
the highest, and agreed and he who will fly the highest should be called 
the strongest they All started in the same place and wheut away among 
the clouds. . . . After a while he decided that the king of the little 
bird and not only and not he was so high, but he did the thing as well," etc. 

Results. — (1) Norms and dependence on age. The results 
gained by Terman and Childs with Text 4 are shown in Table 
132, in which the last column is presented as a basis for the use 
of the test diagnostically ; i. e., the score reached by 66 per cent, 
of the children of a given age is taken as the limiting standard 
of eflSeiency for that age. Tables 133 and 134 show the results 



TABLE 132 
Completion Text No. 4. lo-Mlnute Limit {Terman and Childs) 



CASES 


MEDIAN 


32 


18.4 


39 


29.2 


52 


32.2 


.50 


34.2 


57 


45.9 


33 


48.5 



REACHED BY 66% 



9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 



8.5 
11.8 
11.1 
11.7 
15.2 

9.4 



14.9 
20.4 
25.2 
25.6 
36.6 
42.8 



for boys and for girls, respectively, obtained by Mr. Eraser, of 
the Cornell Laboratory, with Text 4, but with a 10-minute time- 
limit. In these two tables the number of cases for every group 
is given in parenthesis just above the group average, and the 
groups are sorted to differentiate age and school grade as well 
as sex. 

It will be seen that at 13 and 14 (when the sexes are com- 
bined), the Ithaca children have the better scores despite the 
fact that they worked but 10 min. This difference is partly due 
to the inclusion of high-school pupils in these ages, whereas the 
table of Terman and Childs is limited to children from the 
4th to the 8th grades at Palo Alto, California. 



TEST 48 : EBBI.\(aiAi;s' COMl'LETIOX-METlIOn |n.")Tj 291 

Colm and Dieffenbaclier's tests show progress with age, even 
up to the 20th year. 

(2) Dependence on school training. Wiersma called atten- 
tion to the fact that the relation between performance in this 
test and age is far less evident than that between performance 
and scholastic status. This fact is illustrated clearly in the 
tables prepared by Fraser: taking, for instance, the results 
for girls, averages by ages, 13-19, run 70.9, 63.2, 57.3, 61.8, 65.8, 
63.2, 70.4, and show no definite correspondence, whereas the 
averages by school grades, 8th to fourth year in the high school, 
run 38.9, 56.5, 67.7, 64.5, 80.7. Since there exists a distinct 
positive correlation between standing in this test and general 
intelligence, and since the higher the grade of pupils of a given 
age, the more intelligent, on the whole, they must be, it follows 



TABLE 133 

Completion Text yo. -i. 10-Minute Limit. Results for Boys (Fraser) 





GRADES 




8 


H, S.I 


H. S. II 


H. S. Ill 


H. S. IV 


All 


13 


(7) 

46.3 


(6) 
54.1 


(2) 
32.6 






(15) 




46.9 


14 


(9) 
36.5 


(18) 
54.1 


(9) 
46.3 


(1) 

54.6 




(37) 




48.2 


15 


(7) 
39.5 


(22) 
48.5 


(7) 
61.9 


(3) 
44.1 


(1) 

92.6 


(40) 




50.0 


16 - 


(2) 
42.1 


(5) 
38.7 


(7) 
55.9 


(11) 
73.3 


(3) 
73.9 


(28) 




60.6 


17 _ 


(1) 
34.0 


(3) 
42.5 


(11) (13) 


(8) 
62.5 


(36) 




61.5 


58.0 


58.1 


18 - - 




(1) 
33.2 


(4) 
51.1 


(8) 
43.7 


(7) 
56.5 


(20) 




49.1 


19 






(1) 
32.0 


(8; 
61.9 


(9) 




58.6 


All 


(26) 
1 40.3 


(55) 
49.4 


(41) (36) 
54.1 58.2 


(27) 
63.2 


(185) 
52.9 



292 [05S] IMAGINATION AND INVENTION 

TABLE 134 

Completion Text No. J/. 10-Mlnnte Limit. Results for Girls {Eraser) 



H.S.I 



H. S. II 



H. S. Ill 


H. S. IV 


(1) 

71.0 




(6) 
72.7 




(13) 
61.8 


(2) 
89.9 


(17) 
65.7 


(5) 
86.6 


(12) 
63.9 


(8) 
75.1 


(2) 
46.4 


(2) 

84.2 


(51) 
64.5 


(17) 
80.7 



All 



13.. 
14-. 
15- 

i';_. 

17_. 
18_. 
19- 
All 



(4) 
66.3 

(5) 
37.3 

(8) 
46.9 

(2) 
34.4 



(19) 
38.9 



(4) 
75.3 

(26) 
62.4 

(28) 
50.4 

(6) 
45.0 

a) 

49.0 

(3) 
54.3 

(1) 
79.5 

(69) 
56.5 



(7) 



(11) 
74.1 

(19) 
66.9 

(10) 
57.3 

(2) 
30.0 

(1) 
82,0 

(50) 
67.7 



(8) 
70.9 

(39) 
63.2 

(53) 
57.3 

(42) 
61.8 

(33) 
65.8 

(25) 
63.2 

(6) 
70.4 

(206) 
61.1 



that some part of this correspondence between school status 
and the results is due to the correlation with intelligence. The 
effect of the school training itself undoubtedly contributes an- 
other portion of the correspondence — just how much cannot 
be said. 

(3) Dependence on sex. Although Wiersma could not make 
out sex differences with certainty, the subsequent work of 
Burt and of Fraser leaves little doubt that girls are superior 
to boj's in this, as in most tests with verbal material. Burt 
found girls distinctly better than boys in his text The Tico 
Matches (means 84 and 70, respectively) and slightly better in 
another test of a more argumentative character (53.2 to 50.4). 
Inspection of Eraser's tables will show that, with the excep- 
tion of the 8th-year averages, the girls excel in every group. 



TEST 48 : EBBINGHAUS' COMPLETION-METHOD [059] 293 

whether comparison is made by ages or by school grades. The 
superiority of boys found by Burt and Moore in one test is 
attributed by them to the nature of the text, which was such as 
to appeal more strongly to the interests and knowledge of the 
boys. It is difficult to reconcile, however, the results reported 
by Colin and Dieffenbacher, who found girls inferior to boys at 
all grades and regardless of equivalence in ages. These sex- 
differences w^ere greater in the upper than in the lower classes 
and sufficient to bring the better girls on a level with the 
poorer boys of their age and grade. It is possible that this 
striking opposition to the results found by others may be due 
to some differences in the organization of the schools at Frei- 
burg. 

It is unfortunate that Terman and Childs have made no 
distinction between the sexes in reporting their averages and 
establishing their age standards. 

(4) Individual differences. Distribution of the data obtained 
from the completion method reveals large individual differences. 
This is demonstrated by the large size of the P.E. in the data 
of Terman and Childs and even more definitely by the percentile 
curves of distribution for each sex prepared from Eraser's 
combined results for pupils from 14 to 17 years of age (Fig. 79) . 

(5) Practise, according to Wiersma, may effect an improve- 
ment in efficiency in the completion test that may be easily 
discerned after the lapse of 10 days, and even after an interval 
of 6 weeks. As a consequence, it is evident that, in making use 
of this test for comparative work at different periods, steps 
must be taken to eliminate or compute the jiractise-effect. 

(6) Dependence on fatigue. In Ebbinghaus' Breslau investi- 
gation no fatigue effects could be made out as the result of the 
five-hour session in the tests with the upper classes, or at least, 
if fatigue were present, it was masked by practise. In the lower 
classes (10-12 years) there appeared to be a decrease in the 
quantity and quality of work toward the end of the session. 

These conclusions have been criticized by several experi- 
menters. Binet and Henri contend that the several texts were 
of too unequal difficulty and that the method of scoring was 
arbitrary and crude. Lobsien has also criticized the general 



294 [G(JU] IMAGINATION AND INVENTION 

nm 10 so 30 40 S'O 60 70 80 90 rinx. 



«^ 




















// 
/ 
/ 
/ / 










166 ( 
141 1 


5lf?LS 
30Y3 







/ 

/ 


/ 
/ 
/ 

/ / 




8n 




70 














/ 
/ 


/ 
/ 

/ 

/ 


/ 




Rn 












/ 
/ 
/ 


/ 

/ 


/ 






SO 










/ 

/ 
/ 
/ 


/ 


/ 








40 

■^0 




^' 






■ 












/ 
/ 
/ 


^ 


/ 
















?r> 


/ / 
// 
// 
// 




















in 


// 












































FIG. 79. PEECENTILES FOR COMPLETION TEST NO. 4. AGES 14 TO 17 COMBINED 

(Fraser). 



TEST 48 : EBBliNGilAUS' COML-LETIUN-iMETliUU [GGlJ -U-) 

plan of administration of the tests in the Ereslau investigation. 
It is admitted that the material used was too easy for the upper 
classes, and that this circumstance tended to obscure the in- 
fluence of fatigue and other factors. 

In tlie opinion of Kraepelin, the Ebbingliaus test is to be regarded 
more as a device for exploration than as a decisive and accurate device 
for measuring fatigue, for, in the first place, no systematic study has yet 
been made of the relations between mental fatigue and the complex 
activities concerned in this test, and secondly, the evaluation of the 
errors is so difficult and their scoring so arbitrary that the test is not 
well designed for single applications {Stichprobe) and statistical 
treatment. 

Wiersma compared performance before and after a 10-days vacation, 
but he expresses his belief that the marked improvement cited above as 
exhibited by the pupils at the second test was largely due to practice. 
It is unfortunate that proper measures have been not taken to eliminate 
the practice error in these, and In other applications of the completion 
test. 

(7) DependGncG on intelligence. It has already been inti- 
mated that the relation demonstrated between performance in 
the completion test and scholastic standing is partially condi- 
tioned by a direct correlation Avith intelligence. Such a rela- 
tionship was found by Ebbinghaus, most clearly in the lower 
and progressively less clearly in the higher grades, by section- 
ing the Breslau pupils into three groups — best, average, poor- 
est — on the basis of their class standing : these three sections 
scored 56, 48 and 43, respectively, in quantity of work, and 
17.3, 20.8 and 26.3, respectively in quality of work (percentage 
of errors). Similar results were reached by Cohn and Dieffen- 
bacher. Wiersma found a positive correlation between capacity 
in this test and native ability {Begahung) , both in tests at a 
teachers' seminary (ages 14. ,5 to 19.5) and at a continuation 
school (ages 12 to 15). 

Since then, statistical treatment by the more accurate corre- 
lation methods has continued to reveal positive correlations of 
good magnitude betAveen the completion test and intelligence. 
Brown, for example, found a correlation of .43 with one group 
(66 boys, aged 11-12 years) and of .69 with another group (39 
girls, aged 11-12 years), and he declares that the Ebbinghaus 
test ''is a good measure of intellectual ability. It correlates 
with 'general intelligence' almost as closely as 'scholastic in- 



296 [662] IMAGINATION AND INVENTION 

telligence' (school marks) does." Burt reports correlations 
of .48 and ..53, Wyatt of .85, P.E. .04, with one group and of 
.61, P.E. .07, with another group. Simpson, who compared the 
capacities of two contrasting groups of adults in numerous 
tests, found that the Ebbinghaus method almost completely 
separated his two groups, and that there was a correlation of 
.89 between results with his ^good' group and the estimated 
intelligence of the members of that group alone. 

Wyatt applied the analogies and the completion tests to seven children 
who were candidates for admission to the Fielden School, Manchester, 
England, and was able not only to advise which of the candidates should 
be admitted and which not, but also to predict successfully the approxi- 
mate position that these pupils would take in their class at the end of 
the term. 

Ebbinghaus believed that the correlation between the completion test 
and school ability might become obscured (1) because the test puts 
a premium ui)on speed of work, whereas the school grade is based on 
work that permits of a slower pace; (2) because, in some part, standing 
in the test might depend upon purely formal linguistic skill or verbal 
dexterity — a form of ability which he thought had but a limited scope in 
school work; and (3) because the text selected for the test might be 
too easy. 

In the author's opinion, these reservations are scarcely in order, in so 
far as Ebbinghaus implies that school grades are inferior to his test as a 
measure of intellectual ability and asserts that linguistic readiness plays 
no part in the determination of school grades. 

The author is inclined, rather, to agree with Terman when he says : 
"My experience with the test causes me to regard it favorably ; but, like 
all others, if taken alone, it can give only a partial account of the 
subjects' ability. It certainly does indicate something as to the general 
command of language. I am inclined to think that somewhat me- 
chanical activities like memory and association, as distinguished from 
synthetic or combinative processes, play a relatively more important 
role in this test than Ebbinghaus assigns to them. Indeed, verbal 
memory, in the broad sense, would seem to be the chief factor in 
success." Incidentally, ability to spell, degree of familiarity with the 
type of literature from which the selection is taken, and the way in 
which 8 happens to go about the test may all affect his rank. Indeed, it 
is possible that a very original 8, one with a spark of literary invention, 
might fare relatively poorly. 

Terman and Childs say : "We believe that it [the completion test] 
brings to light fundamental differences in the thought processes." 

(&) Delmquents. Text 4 has been used by the author, to- 
gether with numerous other tests, in examinations of the men- 
tal status of certain selected 'citizens' of the George Junior 
Republic, carried on with the assistance of Mr. Eraser, at 



TEST 48 : EBBINGHAUS' COMPLETION-METHOD [663] 297 

Freeville, N. Y. While our data (Table 135) are too few to 
generalize from, tliev reveal, as far as they go, distinct reduc- 
tions from the normal performances for /8"s of the ages con- 
cerned, and these reductions, it is of interest to note, bring 
the averages in fair agreement with the standards correspond- 
ing to the mental ages at which these >8"s had been rated by 
the other tests. These results, then, tend to confirm the con- 
viction that the completion method is of considerable value 
in diagnosis of mental status. 

TABLE 135 

Completion Text ^. 15-Minute Limit. Results from 'Citizens' of the 
George Junior Repuhlic (Whipple and Fraser) 



SEX 


CASES 


CHRON. AGE 


MENTAL AGE 


AVERAGE 


M. V. 


Boys 

Girls 


13 
5 


14-19 

15-18 


10.0-12.5 
9.G-11.2 


27.6 
35.7 


13.G 
15.4 



(9) ReliaMlify. Coefficients of reliability computed by dif- 
ferent investigators for varying forms of this test have as a rule 
been quite high; thus. Brown finds the coefficient mostly over 
.70, Simpson .92 to .96, Burt .68, Burt and Moore, .58, and 
Wyatt .89. 

(10) Correlations with other tests. Heymans and Brugmans 
report the following correlations with the Ebbinghaus test : 
discrimination of abstract terms .54, memory for ideas .56, 
problem solving .56, detection of grammatical errors .72. Wyatt 
found correlations as follows : with analogies .85, with word- 
building .70, with part-wholes .75, with interpretation of fables 
.69, with aiios-test. 43, with memory for nonsense sj'llables .61, 
with dissected pictures .41, with letter-squares zero. For nu- 
merous correlations discovered by Brown with six different 
groups of aS"s, consult the original texts (2b, pp. 122-123, or 2a, 
p. 316, or the same material may be gathered from Simpson, 
pp. 107-8). Simpson found correlations of .85 with hard 
opposites, .72 Avith easy opposites, .82 with memory for words, 
.71 with memory for ideas, .65 with adding, and .54 Avith the 



298 [6G4] IMAGINATION AND INVENTION 

ft test. Corrected correlations reported by Krueger and Spear- 
man are as follows : completion test and pitch discrimination 
0.81, completion test and adding 0.93, completion test and the 
hypothetical 'central-factor' 0.97. The completion test was 
not found to correlate with a test of memory span (Auswen- 
diglernen) . The extremely high correlation with the 'central- 
factor" is of special interest, since, if the argument be admitted, 
it demonstrates a very close dependence of performance in this 
test upon a certain hypothetical psj^chophysical capacity, pre- 
sumably akin to plasticity of the central nervous system, which, 
in the opinion of these authors, is, for each individual, a funda- 
mental conditioning factor in the performance of various forms 
of mental activit}^ 

Notes. — At the risk of repetition, it may be pointed out again 
that the outcome of the completion test hinges largely upon the 
degree of difficulty of the text employed : too difficult or too 
easy texts are alike undesirable, for the former convert the test 
into a blind puzzle, while the latter fail to bring out char- 
acteristic individual differences of abilit}'. 

To use the test on an extensive scale, therefore, we need to 
have at hand a number of texts that have been standardized by 
comprehensive trials with groups of S"s of both sexes, various 
ages, and various degrees of capacity and training. In other 
words, we need a series of norms of performance, or 'coefficients 
of difficulty,' as it were, for an adequate number of prescribed 
texts. Tables 133 and 134 represent a contribution in this direc- 
tion from the Cornell Laboratory. Any investigator can im- 
prove them by adding to them his own data. 

The difficulty of making comparisons between the results of 
different texts applied at different times may be further reduced 
by always permitting each S to finish each text, and by dis- 
tributing the texts to be compared in such a manner as to 
eliminate by subsequent computation whatever error arises 
from this difference of material. 

The Lipmann-Wertheimer modification of the completion 
method is essentially as follows: a test-story is read to S to 
supply him with certain information which he is supposed 
thereafter to conceal. He is subsequently given for completion 



TEST 48: EBBINGHAUS' COMPLETION-METHOD [005] 299 

a mutilated text, the elisions of Avhich are so arranged as to 
trap him into introducing facts from the test-story which he is 
trying to conceal. 

In an endeavor to retain the essential psychological features 
of the Ebbinghaus test and at the same time avoid the disturb- 
ance due to dependence upon linguistic aptitude, Healy has 
devised a pictorial completion test. This is carried on with the 
aid of a brightly colored picture, 10X14 inches, which represents 
an outdoor scene with ten discrete, simple activities going on. 
Ten one-inch squares are so cut out from this picture as to 
remove 10 different objects, each of which is essential to 
complete one of the activities. S is given the incomplete pic- 
ture, the 10 cut-out portions, and 35 other one-inch squares of 
which 30 bear other objects while 5 are blank. His task is io 
insert the 10 squares that he judges essential to complete the 
picture. Data thus far published indicate that the test is diffi 
cult below the age of 9, that performance may be as good at 
10 as at 13, and that some adults make poorer scores than chil- 
dren (due to their more critical attitude toward the drawing). 
A time longer than 5 min. with more than one 'illogical' or more 
than two 'total' errors is suspicious of defective mental ability 
in ^'s above the age of 10. This test would appear to possess 
many possibilities of development. 

REFERENCES 

(1) A. Binet et V. Henri, La fatigue intellectuelle. I'arls. 1808, 
especially Cli. 7. 

(2) W. Brown, (a) Some experimental results in the correlation of 
mental abilities. BrJPs, 3: 1910, 296-322. (6) Same material, with 
slight modifications, appears as Ch. 3 in The essentials of mental 
measurement. Cambridge, Eng., 1911. 

(3) C. Burt, Experimental tests of higher mental processes. JEPil, 
1 : 1911, 93-112. 

(4) C. Burt and R. C. Moore. The mental differences between the 
sexes. JEPcl 1 : 1912, 273-284, 355-388. 

(5) J. Cohn und .7. Dieffenbacher, Uutersuchungen iiber Geschlechts- 
Alters-und Begabungs-Unterscheide bei Schiilern. BeUiefte zirr ZAngPs, 
2 : 1911. Pp. 214, especially 30-36. 

(6) H. Ebbinghaus. Ueber eine neue Methode zur Priifung geistiger 
Filhigkeiten und ihre Anwendung bei Schulkindern. ZPs, 13 : 1897, 401- 
459. 

(7) T. Elsenhans, Nachtrag zu Ebbinghaus' 'Kombinationsmethode.' 
ZPs, 13; April, 1897, 460-3. 



300 [666] IMAGINATION AND INVENTION 

(8) D. K. Fraser, Unpublished investigation in the Cornell Educa- 
tional Laboratory on the standardization of mental tests for the period 
of adolescence. 

(9) W. Healy, A pictorial completion test. PsR, 21: 1914, 189-203. 

(10) G. Heymans und H. Brugmans, Intelligenzpriifungen bei Stu- 
dierenden. ZAugPs, 7 : 1913, 317-331. 

(11) E. Kraepelin, Ueber Ermiidungsmessungen. ArGsPs, 1: 1903, 
9-30, especially 17. 

(12) F. Krueger und C. Spearman, Die Korrelation zwischen verschie- 
denen geistigen Leistungsfahigkeiten. ZPs, 44 : 1907, 50-114. 

(13) O. Lipmann und M. Wertheimer, Tatbestandsdiagnostische Kom- 
binations-versuche. ZAngPs, 1 : 1907, 119-128. 

(14) M. Lobsien, Ueber die psychologisch-padagogischen Methoden 
zur Erforschung der geistigen Ermiidung. ZPdPs, 2 : 1900, 273-286, 352- 
367. 

(15) M. Mever, An English equivalent of "Combinationsmethode." 
JPh, 9: 1909, 688. 

(16) B. R. Simpson, Correlntions of mental abilities. Colunibia 
ConEcl, No. 53, New York, 1912. Pp. 122. 

(17) Carrie R. Squire, Graded mental tests. JEdPs. 3: 1912, 363-380, 
430-443, 493-506, especially 442-443. 

(18) L. Terman. Genius and stupidity. PdSe, 13: 1906, 307-373, espe- 
cially 342-7. 

(19) L. M. Terman and H. G. Childs, A tentative revision and exten- 
sion of the Binet-Simon measuring scale of intelligence. JEdPs, 3 : 1912, 
61-74, 133-143, 198-208, 277-289, especially 198-202. 

(20) E. Wiersma, Die Ebbinghaus'sche Combinationsmethode. ZPs, 
30: 1902, 196-222. 

(21) S. Wyatt, The quantitative investigation of higher mental 
processes. BrJPs, 6 : 1913, 109-133. 

TEST 49 

Interpretation of fables. — In 1903 Swift suggested that men- 
tal abilit}' might be measured hj determining the capacity to 
interpret the typical situation given in a typical fable. The 
three test-fables emploj'^ed by Swift were later (1906) used by 
Terman in his comparative study of bright and stupid boys. 
Still later (1912) Terman and Childs published a set of eight 
fables selected by trial from a series of 20, with the idea that 
responses to this test would assist in mental diagnosis in con- 
junction with the Binet-Simon and other tests. These authors 
believe that this 'generalization test/ as they term it, ''will 
prove a usable addition to the scale. It presents for interpre- 
tation situations which are closely paralleled in human social 
relations. It tests the power to unravel the motives underlying 
acts and attitudes, to look behind the deed for the idea that 
prompted it. It gives a clue to the status of social conscious- 



TEST 49: INTERPRETATION OF FABLES [GOT] 301 

ness. This, if correct, is tremendously important for the diag- 
nosis of the upper range of mental defectiveness." . . . "It 
does not need to be unduly complicated by language difficulties, 
as is always the case to greater or less degree in tests of ability 
to interpret poetry." ^ 

Materials. — Printed sheets, containing the 8 fables selected 
by Terman and Childs. 

Method. — Instruct jS* substantially as follows : ''I am going 
to read to you some fables. A fable is a little story that is 
meant to teach a lesson (convey a moral). After I have read 
each fable, I want you to tell what is the lesson that you think 
it teaches (the moral that it is intended to convey)." Bead 
each fable twice through before asking for its point. For ordi- 
nary testing use Fables I, III, VII and VIII. These four have 
been specially selected by Terman and Childs from the eight 
supplied, as proving in actual test to answer best the expected 
requirements of due progress in scores with advance in age.^ 

It is best to conduct the test individually and to record ver- 
batim the replies given orally by S; it is possible then to follow 
up ^'s response by a few discrete questions if necessary to be 
positive of his interpretation. If group tests are made, supply 
each 8 with a blank sheet containing eight numbered spaces in 
which the replies may be written. The norms of Terman and 
Childs that follow are based upon such group tests with writ- 
ten replies for Fables I, III, VII and VIII. 

Variations of Method. — If time permits, supplementary or 
control tests may be made by the use of the four remaining 
fables. 

Treatment of Data. — We quote as follows from Terman and 
Childs : "The difficulty of finding a method of scoring which 
does not give too large play to the personal equation is a serious 
criticism of the fables test. After experimenting with a 
number of methods the following system was adopted as the one 
best suited to bring out objective differences and to call atten- 



'See, for example, the test used by Bonser, p. 8. 

'See Terman and Childs, p. 13S, for the criteria upon which these four 
fables were finally chosen. 



302 [668] IMxVGINATION AND INVENTION 

tion to certain tj'pes of answers significant for clinical pur- 
poses : 

"(a) A completely generalized and entirely relevant reply, 
5 units. 

"(6) A generalization, qviite plausible, but slightly differing 
from the correct one, or else a correct statement mostly- gen- 
eralized but not perfectly free from the concrete, 4 units. 

"(c) Correct idea stated in purely concrete terms, 3 units. 

"{cl) An irrelevant generalization, 2 units. 

''(e) A reply in concrete terms with just a trace of relevancy, 
1 unit. 

"(f) No response, or an entirely irrelevant concrete state- 
ment, 0." 

"Elegance, grammatical correctness, spelling, etc., should have no 
weight in the scoring. On the other hand, it is necessary to be discrim- 
inating as to essential thought in the response. The tendency of the inex- 
perienced scorer is to give too much credit. "In practise there is a tend- 
ency to make sparing use of Scores 1 and 4, reserving 1 for a few replies 
that are not quite bad enough for 0, and 4 for a few replies, which, 
though pertinent and generalized, are not quite what is wanted.^ 

The following samples of scoring for replies to the four standard fables 
will serve as useful illustrations : 

Fable I. The Maid and the Eggs. 

Score 0. "She wanted to be dressed nice and be praised." 

Score 2. "Not to carry things on the head." "Not to be selfish." "Not 
to boast." 

Score 3. "If the maid had not planned so far ahead she would not 
have dropped her milk." "Don't make schemes for the future while you 
are carrying milk." 

Score 5. "Don't count your chickens before they are hatched." "Not 
to build air-castles." "Don't plan too far ahead." 

Fable III. Hercules and the Wagoner. 

Score 0. "Hercules was not kind." "Hercules was selfish." 

Score 2. "Teaches politeness." "Teaches not to be mean." "To do as 
you are told." 

Score 3. "The lazy man should get out and try to push the wagon out 
himself." "When you get stuck in the mud, don't call for help, but try 
to get out yourself." 

Score 5. "God helps them who help themselves." "Teaches us to help 
ourselves before we ask others to help us." "Don't depend upon others." 



Tor further discussion and samples of scoring, see Terman and Childs, 
pp. 135-139. 



TEST 49 : INTERPRETATION OF FABLES [G69] 303 

Fable VII. The Fox and the Crow. 

Score 0. "The fox wanted the piece of meat." "The crow ought not 
to have tried to siug till she had swallowed it." 

Score 2. "Not to be stingy." "Not to steal." "Think before j'ou act." 

Score 3. "The crow was flattered by this speech." "The crow was too 
proud of her voice." "If the crow had not been so flattered, she would 
not have lost her meat." 

Score 5. "Do not let people flatter you." "Don't listen to praise." 

Fable VIII. The Farmer and the Stork. 

Score 0. "The farmer ought to have let the stork go." "The farmer 
was a bad-tempered man." 

Score 2. "To be merciful." "Do not kill animals." "Don't blame the 
other fellow." "Never go into traps." "Not to tell lies." "Take what 
you get without squealing." 

Score 3. "The stork should not be caught with bad people like cranes." 
"The stork was caught in bad company and had to be treated the same." 

Score 5. "Keep out of bad company." "You are judged by the com- 
pany you keep." 

Results, — (1) No7i)is. The results obtained by Fables I, III, 
VII and VIII applied to about 350 pupils from the 4th to the 
8th grades, inclusive, in 14 rooms of the Palo Alto and Maj- 
field, Cal., schools pro^'ide representative data for children up 
to 13 years of age. Table 136 shows the percentage of children 
of a given age that secured each of the scores from to 5 for 
each of the four fables. Experimenters can add their own re- 
sults to this distribution and thus increase the reliability of 
the distributions. The data in Table 137 are secured by adding 
together the scores of the four fables (maximal score = 20) and 
multiplying b}^ 5 to bring to a percentage basis. The last col- 
umn of this table may be taken as a diagnostic basis, as it 
indicates the score that is reached by two-thirds of the pupils 
of a given age. 

(2) Dependence on age. Terman believes that 'Vhat is tested 
by the interpretation of fables is, in part at least, that general 
change of mental horizon that comes with increased experience 
and dawning maturity." The data thus far available indicate 
a fairly steady increase of proficiency with age, save that per- 
formance at 12 does not differ greatly from that at 11 years. 
With these four fables at least there is evidently not much 
chance of obtaining distributions for ages less than 9; indeed, 
in the opinion of Terman and Childs it would be difficult to 



304 [G70] IMAGINATION AND INVENTION 

TABLE 136 

Distribution hu Percentages in Interpretation of FaWes {Tcrnian 
and ChUds) 









SCORES 


TOTAL 


PERCENTAGE OF 


FABLE 


AGE 


CASES 
















INCORRECT 











1 


2 


3 


4 


5 


4+5 


GENERALIZATIONS 


I. 


9 


41 


14 


31 


24 


4 


4 


19 


23 


51 




10 


53 


13 


22 


20 


4 


9 


30 


39 


34 


The Maid 


11 


61 


8 


6 


3] 


10 


16 


28 


44 


41 


and 


12 


80 


7 


10 


22 


5 


16 


39 


55 


28 


the Eggs. 


13 


73 


5 


4 


18 


8 


15 


47 


62 


22 




14 


43 


5 


9 


20 


5 


16 


38 


54 


27 


III. 


9 


41 


14 


7 


19 


29 


12 


16 


28 


40 




10 


53 


9 


9 


13 


19 


17 


32 


49 


25 


Hercules 


11 


61 


5 


6 


15 


13 


20 


41 


61 


22 


and the 


12 


80 


3 


12 


12 


11 


21 


39 


60 


17 


Wagoner. 


13 


73 





5 


lo 


12 


18 


47 


65 


18 




14 


43 


5 





9 


2 


36 


45 


81 


10 


vir. 


9 


41 


19 


27 


34 


14 


2 


2 


4 


90 




10 


53 


17 


26 


35 


2 


5 


13 


18 


66 


The Fox 


11 


61 


8 


15 


44 


8 


8 


16 


24 


65 


and 


12 


80 


11 


17 


32 


6 


15 


17 


32 


50 


The Crow. 


13 


73 


11 


16 


27 


3 


8 


32 


40 


40 




14 


43 


14 


7 


34 


5 


14 


25 


39 


46 


VIII. 


9 


41 


36 


19 


31 


5 


2 


5 


1 


81 




10 


63 


21 


24 


24 


2 


4 


24 


28 


46 


The Farmer 


11 


61 


16 


11 


21 


6 


11 


33 


44 


32 


and 


12 


80 


15 


15 


22 


5 


7 


33 


40 


35 


the Stork. 


13 


73 


8 


8 


14 


8 


•14 


46 


60 


19 




14 


43 


7 


5 


18 


5 


11 


52 


63 


22 



The percentage of nicorrect generalizations is obtained by dividing the 
number of Scores 2 by the combined number of Scores 2, 4 and 5 (see 
explanation of scoring given above). 

select any fables that would be serviceable for vounger children. 
On the other hand, tbe addition of a few more difficult fables 
''would make the test especially valuable at the upper end of 
the scale and help a great deal in the difficult task of extending 
the scale beyond 13 years." 

(3) Dependence on inteWigcnce. Swift reports that the table- 
test showed no superiority for the 'bright' children; that, on 



TEST 49 : IXTERPRETATIOX OP FAiBLES [^71] 305 

TABLli] 137 

Norms for Interpretation of Four Fables {Terman and Cliilds) 



AGE 


CASES 


MEDIAN 


REACHED BY 
66% 


9 


41 
53 
61 

80 
73 
43 


35-40 
45 

50-55 
55 
70 
70-75 


25-30 


10 - — 


35-40 


11 _._ 


45-50 


12 _ _ - -- - 


45-50 


13 


55-60 


14 


55-60 







the contrarj^ Avith the fable of The Fishes and the Pike, which, 
he says, requires "a distinctly intellectual process," the dull 
group excelled the bright group, while the answers of boys in 
an industrial (reform) school ''distinctly outranked those from 
both of the other groups, but especially the ones from the 
'bright' division, in the penetration and versatility that they 
showed." 

Terman's tests shoAved, on the contrary, that his 'dull' group 
was distinctly inferior to his 'bright' group, for, as he says: 
"in the first place, they more frequently miss the point of the 
story altogether," and "in the second place, the dull boj^s are 
plainly deficient in degree of abstraction. Even when they give 
an approximately correct interpretation, they usually express 
it in the concrete terms of the given situation, instead of gen- 
eralizing it." 

This lack of accordance is attributed by Terman to some fault in 
method on the part of Swift. "I should judge," he says, "that his results 
would have been different if he had been able to take his cases individu- 
ally, instead of collectively." 

By way of illustration, the following quantitative results may be 
quoted: Swift reports that, in the fable mentioned, 27% of his 'bright' 
group, as contrasted with 9% of his 'dull' group, thought the plan wise 
and just. Again, only 15% of the bright children, as contrasted with 
30% of the dull children, pointed out that the plan would not help the 
fishes that were not turned into pike. When scored according to Ter- 
man's plan'' his bright >S"s averaged for three fables the ranks 1.3, 3.17 
and 2.83, respectively, while his dull *S"s averaged the ranks 1.86, 4.57 
and 4.57 for the same three fables. 

Swift states that "the answers from the public-school children lacked 
individuality ; they were conventional, while those from the reform 



'In this earlier work Terman gave the score 1 for a satisfactory 
answer, 5 for a complete failure. 



306 [672] IMAGINATION AND INVENTION 

school gave evidence of spontaneity and resourcefulness," and he draws 
from this the dubious conclusion that "the question may be seriously 
raised wliether the schools do not train children to stupidity." 

Quite on the contrary, Terman and Childs cite the following replies to 
Fable VII given by pupils 13 to 17 years of age, all of whom were 
retarded in school from 2 to 4 years : 

Fame VII. 

'The fox was slicker than the crow was." 
"Not to be generous to people you don't know." 
"Not to sing when j'ou have anything in your mouth." 
"To eat before you sing." 
"Not to be forgetful." 
"Where there's a will there's a way." 
"To eat the meat and then sing." 
"How to be wise." 

"Don't answer if your mouth is full." 
"Look before you leap." 
"When you have a thing, hang on to it." 
"She should not have opened her mouth." 
"Teaches us to look for ti'icks." 
"To finish one thing before we do another." 

"Taught the crow to be wise and not to open her mouth when she had 
anything in it." 

(4) Reliability. No statistical constants have been reported 
that might serve as coefficients of reliability. It may be men- 
tioned, however, that ''an ;8"s previous familiarity with the 
fables does not necessarily^ increase in the least his chance of 
Avinning a high score." In one room of the Palo Alto schools 
the 35 pupils had read some or all of the test fables, but these 
children made no better scores than others of their age and 
school grade. Terman and Childs conclude that even had an 
attempt been made to teach the moral of these fables, it would 
not have been successful if the situation in the fable was nat- 
urally beyond the child's powers of comprehension. 

(5) Correlations. Wyatt reports the following correlations 
with interpretation of fables : analogies .74, completion test 
.69, word-building .47, part-wholes test .56, sentence construc- 
tion .53, memory for nonsense syllables .41, dissected pictures 
.26, letter-squares .31. 

Notes. — For other tests that present a certain analogy to the 
interpretation of fables, the reader may see Bonser's interpre- 
tation of poetry (literar}- interpretation), already mentioned, 
Mrs. Squire's tests of supplying a. suitable name to, or of ask- 



TEST 49: INTERPRETATION OF FABLES [673] 307 

ing appropriate questions about a number of pictures, and 
Abelson's test of interpretation of pictures. 

REFERENCES 

(1) A. R. Abelson, Tests for mental deficiency in cliildliood. The 
Child, 3 : 1912, 1-17. 

(2) F. G. Bonser, Tlie reasoning ability of children. ColumbiaCon 
Ed, No. 37. New York, 1910. 

(3) Carrie R. Squire, Graded mental tests. JEdPs, 3: 1912, 363-380, 
etc., especially 373-376. 

(4) E. J. Swift, Standards of efficiency in school and in life. PdSe, 
10 : 1903, 3-22, especially 3-6. 

(5) L. M. Terman, Genius and stupidity: a study of some of the 
intellectual processes of seven 'bright' and seven 'stupid' boys. PdSe, 
13, 1906, 307-373. 

(6) L. M. Terman and H. G. Childs, A tentative revision and exten- 
sion of the Binet-Simon measuring scale of intelligence. JEdPs, 3: 1912, 
61-74, 133-143, 198-208, 277-289, especially 133-143. 

(7) S. Wyatt, The quantitative Investigation of higher mental 
processes. BrJPs, G : 1913, 109-133. 



CHAPTER Xll 

Tests op Intellectual Equipment 

The tests of this chapter differ from other mental tests de- 
scribed iu the present volume in that they measure, not the 
efficiency with which certain typical mental activities or mental 
processes can function, but rather the number of ideas that an 
individual possesses. In other words, their purpose is not to 
measure what the individual can do, or how well he can do it, 
but what he knows about — to take a census, as it Avere, of his 
stock of information, G. Stanley Hall's study of the content 
of children's minds on entering schooP is, perhaps, most nearly 
allied in type and conception with the tests which are here 
presented. 

The first test is designed to secure an estimate of the number 
of words in the reading vocabulary of the individual tested, 
the second to secure an estimate of the number of subjects 
(disciplines, phases of human activity) with which the indi- 
vidual has an exact or an approximate acquaintance. 

TEST 50 

Size of vocabulary. — Since nearly all thought and expression 
is couched in lingiiistic form, and since the intellectual progress 
of the child at school is, in a sense, a process of augmentation 
of his vocabular}' and of refinement in its use, it seems not un- 
reasonable to assume that the determination of the size of this 
vocabulary will be of significance and value in estimating his 
general intellectual status. 

Experiments conducted by Kirkpatrick have shown that an 
approximate determination of what might be termed the vocahu- 
lary-index can be secured by the use of the relativel,y short and 
simple method that is described herewith. By extending the 
scope of the tests, the usual comparative study maj' be made, 
and the index may be related to its conditioning factors — age, 
sex, school standing, extent of reading, general ability, etc. 



^See his Aspects of child life and education. Boston, 1907. 
[G74] 308 



TEST 50: SIZE OF VOCABULARY [675] 309 

Kirkpatrick's original list of words lias been applied by the 
author with some modifications of method. Terman and Childs 
have prepared an entirely different list, on the ground that the 
words should be selected from a smaller dictionary — one lim- 
ited to representative and more generally employed words and 
not including any large proportion of technical terms. They 
have prepared a list of 100 test-words b}^ taking the last word 
in every 6th column of Laird and Lee's Vest-Pocket Webster 
Dictionary, 1904 edition. This dictionary contains 18,000 
words, though advertised to contain 30,000, whereas the Web- 
ster's Abridged Dictionary used by Kirkpatrick contains 
28,000 words. 

Material. — Two printed vocabularj^ tests : the Kirkpatrick 
list and the Terman and Childs list (modified by the author in 
respect to instructions for group testing). 

Preliminaries. — In accordance with Kirkpatrick's plan, 
several preliminary exercises are employed, in order, on the one 
hand, to obtain data with regard to ^'s general familiarity with 
words, his range of reading, etc., and on the other hand, to 
instill in him an attitude of caution in undertaking the vocabu- 
lary-test proper. These preliminarj' exercises are as follows :- 

(1) Ask S to write the opposite of the following terms : good, 
long, hreak, rude, simj)le, permanent, particular, permit, oJjnox- 
ions, genuine. 

(2) Ask aS* to tell (orally or in writing) Avhat the following 
words mean : adductor, daron, channel, decemvirate, eschar, 
amalgamation, dottle-holder, concatenate, disentonih, fiUfonn, 
gourd, intercede, matting, page, hodman, lanuginose, muff, pJw- 
tograph, soroll, tycoon. (Where words have more than one 
meaning, all are to be given.) 

(3) Secure from ^ a list of all the pajiers and magazines that 
he is in the habit of reading. 

(4) Secure from *S' the names of the books that he has read 
during the past 6 months. 

(5) Ask ^ which of these books he liked the best, why he liked 
it, and to give some account of Avliat it was about. 



==To follow the plan, the first two exercises, at least, should be given 
whenever grade pupils are tested, and all five if time permits. 



310 [676] I^■TELLECTUAL EQUIPMENT 

(6) Ascertain the birthplace of ^'s parents, his school grade, 
and his favorite school subjects. 

Method. — Both tests can be conducted by handing the printed 
forms to ^ and asking him to read the instructions over twice 
and then to mark the words carefully in accordance with them. 
But to secure data that will be directly comparable with those 
published for their test by Terman and Childs the examination 
of S must proceed orally. ;S sees the word, hears it pronounced 
by E, and then gives its meaning orally. E scores each term 
0, 0.5 or 1. The score 1 is given when *Sf is able to give any 
single correct meaning for the word, even if the meaning given 
is not the commonest one and even if the definition be poorly 
expressed. E must err on the side of leniency and make due 
allowance for the difficulty of definition in the case of children. 

The following illustrations will indicate the degree of latitvide allowed 
by Terman and Childs in scoring tlieir test: Full credit (1 point) was 
given for : Afloat — "a ship floats on the water ;" civilly — "it's when you 
treat a person nice;" hysterics — "you act funny or crazy;" majesty — • 
"what you say when you are speaking to a king;" copper — "something 
you niake money out of." Half credit (0.5 point) was given for: sportive — 
"to like sports ;" pork — "a kind of meat." It will be seen that a very 
liberal standard has been used. "Questioning for the sake of drawing 
out meanings was not resorted to except in rare instances to overcome 
the child's timidity." 

Treatment of Data. — The Kirkpatrick list supplies E di- 
rectly with the number of words marked 'plus,' and this number 
indicates the vocabulary-index. For comparison with Kirk- 
patrick's and Whipple's norms based on this test, the index, 
taken as a per cent., is multiplied into 28,000. 

The Terman and Childs list, when scored directly by E upon 
the oral responses of S, gives a vocabulary-index by the simple 
addition of points scored, and this index, taken as a per cent., 
is multiplied into 18,000 to make direct comparison with the 
absolute size of vocabulary as computed by these authors. 

The Terman and Childs list, when scored hj E on a. basis of 
S's. own marking (following the author's set of instructions), 
yields four quantities — number of words that can be defined, 
that can be explained, that are roughly familiar and that are 
unknown. The equating of these gradings with the 'points' 
used by Terman and Childs may be roughly accomplished by 



TEST 50 : 81ZK OV VOCABL'l.AKY 



[(177] 311 



regarding each 'D' and 'E' as indicating one point and each 'F' 
as indicating a half-point. 

Variations of Method. — To study ^'s tendency to overesti- 
mate or underestimate his vocabulary, E may follow the plan 
used by the author with college students, of giving the check- 
definition test after the vocabulary-test. 

(1) Give S the Kirkpatrick vocabulary test without suggest- 
ing that he may be called upon to justify his marking. 

(2) When the marking has been completed, and the slip is 
ill jE/'s hands, submit to 8 the following list of words, with a re- 
quest that each word be defined. Allow 20 min. for written 
definitions. 

Definitiozs-List." 



abductor 


interdict 


amalgamation 


lanugo 


abet 


interim 


amanuensis 


lanyard 


baroscope 


mattoclv 


amaranth 


mufti 


chanticleer 


maturate 


bottomry 


photo-lithograph 


chaos 


pud.sy 


concatenate 


rejoinder 


decemvirate 


scruff 


disentrance 


skysail 


eschar 


scruncli 


disepalous 


tendinous 


escheat 


sul)cutaneous 


disestablisli 


tendril 


eschalot 


tycoon 


filiform 


virago 


gourd 


tymbal 


hoecake 


virescent 



(3) For each S. ascertain from the definition-test: (a) the 
number of words not defined, (ft) the number of words wrongly 
defined, (c) Add these to find the total number of words un- 
known in the list of 40. {d) Consult the vocabulary test-slip 
to see whether any words outside the list of 40 are marked un- 
known.* (e) Consult the vocabulary-slip again to see whether 
any w^ords thereon are marked doubtful and have not been 
cleared up by the definition-test; consider these as unknown. 
(f) Add all the unknown terms to determine the final corrected 
vocabulary-index. ((/) Compare this index with the index in- 
dicated by >S' on the vocabulary-slip to see whether aS* has over- 
or underestimated his vocabulary, and to what degree. 



^Concatenation, lanuginoHe and laniiginoiis, of the vocabulary-test, can, 
of course, be checked off by the definitions given for concatenate and 
lauiigo. 

■■In a test of Sophomores and .Juniors in college we were surprised to 
find the following words in this categorj- : barque, baroticlie, boudoir, dis- 
entomb, filigree, liodman, pagoda, rejuvenate, scroll, sub-let, tenderloin. 
These words, then, it seems, would have to be added to the 40 to secure 
a comprehensive list of possibly unknown words. 



312 [678] 



INTELLECTUAL EQUIPMENT 



Results. — (1) Kirkpatrick's computation of the average 
vocahulary is shown in Table 138. Tlie author's results, derived 
with Kirkpatrick's list applied to 70 college students (16 men 
and 54 women), aged 16 to 25 years, indicate an average vocabu- 
lary of 21,728 when computed on the uncorrected estimates of 
the students, and of 20,512 when computed on the corrections 
supplied by the supplementary definition-test. 



TABLE 138 

Average Vocalmlary in Relation to SclioJastic Status (Kirkpatrick) 



SCHOLASTIC STATUS 




SCHOLASTIC STATUS 



VOCABULARY 



Grade II___ 
Grade Ill- 
Grade IV- _ 
Grade V_-_ 
Grade VI__ 
Grade VII_ 
Grade VIII 



Grade IX 

High school, 1st year 
High school, 2d year 
High school, 3d year 
High school, 4th year 
Normal-school pupils. 
College students 



13,400 
15,640 
16,020 
17,600 
18,720 
19,000 
20,120 



The results obtained by Terman and Childs by the use of 
their list with individual, oral responses from 161 children, 
aged 5 to 13 years, are shown in Table 139. As will be under- 
stood from the explanations already given, the vocabulary- 
index is larger than Kirkpatrick's, but the absolute vocabulary 
is smaller. 

TABLE 139 

Relation of VocaljitJary to Age: MetJiod of Terman and Childs 



MEDIAN 


NUMBER 
TESTED 


MEDIAN 
INDEX , 


MEDIAN 
VOCAB. 


VOCAB. REACHED 

BY 

66 PER CENT. 


REVISED NORMS 


AGE 


Ages 


Index 


6.5 


5 


13.9 


2500 


2300 


6 


12 


7.5 


14 


14.4 


2600 


2300 


7 


14 


8.5 


28 


22.0 


3960 


. 3600 


8 


18 


9.5 


35 


27.8 


5000 


4000 


9 


23 


10.6 


24 


33.3 


6000 


4500 


10 


26 


11.5 


29 


33.9 


6100 


5500 


11 


30 


12.4 


19 


42.9 


7700 


6500 


12 


36 


13.0 


7 ■ 


48.9 


8800 


7400 


13 


42 



TEST 50 : SIZE OF VOCABULARY 



[079] rji3 



The author has used the Termati and Chikls list with 10 mem- 
bers of the George Junior Republic, ages 14 to 18 : the aver- 
age index v^^as 53.8 per cent. He has also employed the same 
list by the written response (group method) with Sophomores 
at Cornell Universitv, with the results indicated in Table 110. 



TABLE 140 

VocaJjiilaries of Ticentt/ College Students: Tenmin and Childs List 

{Whipple) 





NUMBER 


D 


E 


F 


N 


Men 


10 
10 


65.1 
56.3 


20.8 
29.2 


6.7 

8.5 


7.4 


Women 


6.0 



ESTIMATED INDEX 



89.3 
89.8 



On the vocabularies of children below the age of G consult 
Whipple (13) for the chief studies prior to 1908, and Boyd (4), 
Bush (5), Gheorgov (6) and Heilig (7) for studies subsequent 
to that date. For methods and results of securing vocabularies 
from imbeciles and other feeble-minded consult Binet and 
Simon (3) and Town (11). 

(2) In the author's definition-test, no word of the 40 was cor- 
rectly defined by every student, and since, as has been noted, 
there remained 16 other words that were unknown or doubtful, 
it follows that only 44 of the 100 words in Kirkpatrick's list 
were certainly known by every one of 70 college students. 

(3) There is wide individual variation in the size of the 
vocabularies of students of the same age and scholastic status. 



TABLE 141 

Distrihution of Corrected VocaJjulary Index. 

i Whipple) 



Seventy Collcf/e Students 



INDEX 


55-59 


60-64 


65-63 


70-74 


75-79 


80-84 


85-89 


No. of cases 


1 


6 13 22 


19 i 5 5 

1 



Highest index, 89%. Average index, 73.26%. Lowest index, 58%;. 



514 [680] 



INTELLECTUAL EQUIPMENT 



This variation is shown bv the distribution in Table 141. The 
largest college-student vocabulary found by the writer with 
Kirkpatrick's list is 24,920 (89 per cent.) ; the smallest is 16,240 
(58 per cent.), or approximately the vocabulary assigned by 
Kirkpatrick to the average 2d-year high-school pupil. 

(4) No positive sex differences have been established, though 
there is a suggestion of superiority of boys over girls, and of 
men over women. 

(5) In general, pupils that read the most books and maga- 
zines have the largest vocabularies. 

(6) Kirkpatrick found a tendency toward positive correlation 
between class standing (teachers' grades) and vocabulary- 
index: ''those ranking high in scholarship knew on an average 
about 5 per cent, more words than those ranking low in scholar- 
ship." The author found a more decided correlation (r = 
+ 0.45, P.E. = 0.06) between the index of 58 college students 
and their grades in his classes in educational psychology. 

(7) When no precautionary measures are taken to offset the 
tendency, the determination of the vocabulary-index is com- 
monly affected by oi^er estimation. Inspection of Table 142 will 
show that 59 of the 70 college students examined by the author 
overestimated, while but 10 underestimated their vocabulary : 
the largest overestimation was 18 per cent. ; the largest under- 
estimation was 4 per cent. Since 20, or more than one-quarter 

TABLE 142 

Overestimation of tJie Vocabulary Index. Seventy College Students 

(Whipple) 



PER CENT. 


OVERESTIMA.TED 


NUMBER 


PER CENT. OVERESTIMATED 


NUMBER 




18 


1 


5 


7 




15 


2 


4 


6 




14 


3 


3 


7 




13 


1 


2 


10 




12 


3 


1 


9 




11 


1 





1 




9 


2 


—1 


6 




8 


2 


—2 


2 




7 


1 


- 4 


2 




6 


4 







TEST 50 : SIZE OF VOCABULARY [^81] 315 

of the students overestimated by 5 per cent, or more, it is evi- 
dent that, without a somewhat elaborate definition check, the 
reliability of the vocabulary test is distinctly lessened.'^ 

(8) The definition test reveals an unexpectedly large number 
of erroneous definitions. The source of these errors may fre- 
quently be traced to confusion with words of similar appear- 
ance or to fancied etymological derivations. The following list 
shows typical errors in definition by college students; the as- 
sumed source of confusion is indicated by the terms in paren- 
theses after the definitions : 

amanuensis — poet laureate, lovingness (amativeness). 

amaranth — a precious stone (amethyst). 

abet — although (albeit), a wager (a + bet), diminish (abate). 

bottomry — the art of bottoming chairs, deceit, bottom of anything. 

chanticleer — one who sings a loud song, one who leads a chant. 

decemvirate — composed of five, count out by tens, formerly a group of 
ten men, but any number now. 

disentrance — failure to enter. 

disepalous — apart from the head, without shoulders (di + oeph- 
alous?). 

gourd — reward (guerdon), to slash or whip (goad), morning glory. 

interim — time between two reigns (interregnum). 

lanugo — a kind of language. 

lanyard — yard where leather is tanned (tanyard), yard about the lane. 

mattock — a lock of hair (matted locks?), a kind of bird, a sort of rug, 
a kind of robe ( cassock ) . 

maturate — to ripen (mature), to matriculate. 

sky-sail — a sail in the sky, a kite. 

tycoon — a violent wind (typhoon), an animal, a silk-worm, a natural 
phenomena (sic). 

tendril — a membrane connecting two bones (tendon). 

tendinous — capable of endurance (tenacious?). 

scrunch — a good for nothing person (scrug?). 

virago — a kind of bird ( !) (vireo), a disease, giddiness (vertigo). 

virescent — sparkling (iridescent), of or pertaining to man ( !) (virile). 

Notes. — ( 1 ) The greatest source of unreliability in the vocab- 
ulary tests in which ^'s mark their own papers lies in individual 
difl'erences in the subjective standard employed by different /S's 



°This result may be compared with Kirkpatrick's conclusion that very 
young children are apt to underestimate because the isolated words of the 
list fail to arouse associations such as they would if they had a context. 
Again, when Kirkpatrick defined the words of the list to normal-school 
students, he found that tlie errors of over- and underestimation tended to 
cancel one another ; while when college classes defined 20 words, 114 of 
246 students (about 46 per cent) correctly defined the same proportion 
that they had marked as known, and only 7 per cent, erred hv as much 
as 3 in 20. 



316 [682] INTELLECTUAL EQUIPMENT 

by the 'kuown'-or-'iiukDOwn' method : some S'S mark, as known, 
words which are little more than familiar; others mark words 
as known only when they can define them accurately. 

(2) This leads one to say again that, especially in the case 
of young children, there may be a tendency- toward underesti- 
mation of the vocabulary because isolated words sometimes fail 
to arouse the interpretative meanings that they would arouse 
at once in their customary context. In so far as appeal to the 
ear as well as to the eye is of assistance to 3^oung children whose 
vocabulary is largely auditory, this source of error is partially 
offset b}^ the procedure adopted by Terman and Childs of read- 
ing the list aloud to them. 

(3) In grading the definition test, it is at times rather diffi- 
cult to decide from the definitions whether >S' does or does not 
know the mea,ning of a word Avith sufficient exactness to be cred- 
ited with knowledge of the term in question. In general, it is 
better, in consideration of the difficulty of accurate definition 
and of the short time usually available for this part of the test, 
to err on the side of leniently. 

Thus the following clefinltious might be accepted: 'disestablish — to 
overthrow,' 'decemvir ate — a body of ten,' 'mattock — a garden tool,' 
'amaranth — a flower ;' while the following ought, in our opinion, to be 
disallowed : 'lanyard — one of the spars of a ship,' 'decemvirate — Roman 
civil officer,' 'gourd — a hollow vessel from which to eat and drink,' 'con- 
catenate — to argue,' 'baroscope — an instrument for measuring something.' 

(4) The pamphlet issued by Ay res (1) is of interest as show- 
ing how few words, relatively speaking, are employed in the 
conduct of ordinary correspondence. Out of a total of 23,629 
works, taken by the method of random samples from 2,000 let- 
ters, there were only 2,001 different words. 

REFERENCES 

(1) L. P. Ayres. The spelling vocabularies of personal and business 
letters. (No. E 126, Russell Sage Foundation.) New York, 1914. Pp. 14. 

(2) E. H. Babbitt. A vocabulary test. PopSciM, 70: 1907, SIS. 

(3) A. Binet et Th. Simon, Langage et pensee. AnPs, 14: 1908, 284- 
339. 

(4) W. Boyd, The development of a child's vocabulary- PdSe, 21 : 
1914, 95-124. 



TEST 51: RANGK OF INFOR.MATIOX [G83] 317 

(5) A. D. Bush, The vocabulary of a three-year-old girl. /V/»S'e, 21: 
1914, 125-142. 

(G) I. Gheorgov, Le cleveloppement du langage chez Tenfant. (Re- 
])riiit froju First Intern. Cong. Pedolo.gj^-. ) Ledeberg-Gand, 1912. Pp. 18. 

(7) M. R. Ileilig, A child's vocabulary. P(Z»S'e, 20: 1913, 1-16. 

(8) E. Kirkpatrick, Number of words in an ordinary vocabulary. Sci, 
18 : 1891, 107-8. 

(9) E. Kirkpatrick. A vocabulary test. Pop^clM, 70: 1907, 157-164. 

(10) L. M. Terman and H. G. Childs, A tentative revision and exten- 
sion of the Binet-Simon measuring scale of intelligence. JEdPs, 3 : 1912, 
61-74, 133-143, 198-208, 277-289, especially 205-208. 

(11) Clara II. Town, A study of speech development in two hundred 
and eighty-five idiots and imbeciles. JPsAs, 17 : 1912, 7-15. 

(12) G. M. Whipple, Vocabulary and word-building tests. PsR, 15: 
1908, 94-105. 

(13) G. M. Whipple and Mrs. Whipple, The vocabulary of a three- 
year-old boy, with some interpretative comments. PdSe, 16 : 1909, 1-22. 
(Contains references to 27 articles on childi-en's vocabularies.) 



TEST 51 

Range of information. — The words that comprise Kirk- 
patriek's vocabulary test are iiitentioiially selected by chance: 
some of them, like page, happen to be most ordinary and every- 
day terms; others, like lanuginose, are unusual, technical terms. 
The extent of ^"s acquaintance with words of the latter kind 
depends almost entirely upon the nature of his school train- 
ing-, or upon the quantity and type of his general reading. 

The range of information test has been devised by the author 
as an extension of the vocabulary test. The hundred test-words 
liave been selected, not by chance, but by careful consideration, 
and in such a manner that each shall be representative of some 
specific field of know^ledge or activit}^, in the sense that if 8 has 
nmde himself familiar with a given field, he will almost cer- 
tainly know the w^ord selected from that field, whereas if he has 
not made himself familiar with the field, he will almost cer- 
tainly not know the term, or at least will not have such knowl- 
edge of it as to enable him to define it exactly. Thus, general 
knowledge of American history is tested by the name Anthony 
Wayne, knowledge of French by aujourd'hui, of chemistry by 
chlorine, of ethics by hedonism, of golf by inidiron. of social 
usages by R. S. Y. P., of the technique of photography b}' f-64, 
etc. 



318 [684] 



INTELLECTUAL EQUIPMENT 



Material. — Specially prepared test-blank containing 100 test- 
words, directions for marking them, and a request for 10 
definitions. 

Method. — Place the blank in ;8"s hands ; ask him to read the 
directions through twice before marking the words, and call 
his attention to the request for definitions as printed below the 
test-words. Let him take his own time. 

For exact results, S should afterward be required to define 
every word that he has marked D^ and to explain or attempt to 
explain every word that he has marked E or F. This check test 
should, by preference, be conducted orally. In practise, how- 
ever, especially when testing by the group method, such careful 
checking may prove too onerous ; erroneous definitions may then 
be neglected, or the quantitative data may be revised by dis- 
counting on the basis of the percentage of error revealed in the 
definitions actually given. Or, again, E may, after the test is 
concluded, define the 100 words, and let each 8 revise his own 
paper by jilacing a second series of marks after each word to 
indicate the manner in which he should have marked it. A com- 
parison of the sums of the D's, ^'s, F's, and 2V's of the first and 
of the second series will then show approximately the extent 
and nature of the error due to ignorance or misunderstanding 
of the real meanings. 

Eesults. — (1) Dependence on scliool training. Kesults ob- 
tained by the author at Cornell University and the Ithaca, 
N. Y., High School, and by Miss Smith at the University of 
Texas are presented in Tables 143 and 144. In both it is evident 
that advance in school training, together, of course, with in- 



TABLE 143 

Dependence of Range of Information on Academic Status (Whipple) 



ACADEMIC STATUS 


NUMBER 


D 


E 


p 


N 


Graduates- 


4 

5 
10 
30 
52 


39.0 
20.6 
24.8 
17.7 
6.8 


21.0 
17.2 
12.0 
12.7 
7.6 


12.2 
25.2 
23.7 
17.3 
16.3 


270 


Seniors 


37 


Juniors _ 


39 5 


Sophomores 


52 2 


High School 


69.3 



TEST 51 : RANGE OP INFORMATION 



[685] 315) 



creased maturity, is paralleled by an increase in the number 
of technical terms that can be defined (D), explained (E), or 
that are at least familiar (F), and by, naturally, a correspond- 
ing decrease in the number of terms that are new or un- 
known (N). 

TABLE 144 
Dependence of Range of Information on Academic Status (Smith) 



ACADEMIC STATUS 


NUMBER 


D 


E 


F 


N 


Graduates 

Seniors- 


9 

47 

59 

85 

153 


38.11 
24.90 
20.50 
20.10 
13.70 


12.11 

16.70 
14.40 
12.10 
10.70 


15.67 
19.30 
20.70 
19.10 
15.50 


34.11 
39.10 


Juniors- 


44.40 


Sophomores 

Freshmen 


48.70 
60.10 



(2) Dependence on sex. The results obtained at Ithaca and 
Austin, reclassified by sex, are shown in Table 145, where it is 
evident that there exists a superiority of range of information 
in the males. 



TABLE 145 
Dependence of Range of Information on Sex (Whipple and Smith) 





NUMBER 


D 


E 


F 


N 


Ithaca men 

Ithaca women- 
Texas men 

Texas women— 


44 

57 

162 

173 


15.79 
12.21 
21.00 
15.20 


11.98 

9.42 

12.70 

13.20 


18.22 
17.19 
15.60 
19.30 


54.02 
61.17 
50.70 
52.30 



(3) The results just figured are 'raw' results; strictly speak- 
ing, these should be revised on the basis of an extended series 
of definitions, as recommended in the Vocabulary Test (No. 50) , 
since an inspection of the definitions and explanations actually 
given reveals in the majority of the papers one or more errors. 



320 [686] INTELLECTUAL EQUIPMENT 

due in the main to confusion with words of similar appearance 
or to fancied etymological derivations. The following list 
shows typical errors in definition by college and high-school 
students; the assumed source of confusion is indicated by the 
terms in parenthesis after the definitions : 

ageratum — an aggregation of objects: the aggragate (sic) amount. 

annealed — pressed or rolled out thin : molded together. 

Anthony Wayne — a historic character who was hnng in the cause of 
freedom for the blacks : a man who fought in the Revolution on the 
English side. 

Babcock test — a device to ascertain whether or not cattle have tuber- 
culosis. 

base-hit — when the ball is hit and strikes a base or is caught there : a 
ball batted over a base : when the striker bats the ball into the pitcher's 
hands. 

Bokhara — name of a place in Austria. 

cantilever — a bar with a hook in one end by which lumbermen roll logs 
( canthook ) . 

catalepsy — a form of disorder of the nervous system which causes fits 
or convulsions (epilepsy). (Similar statements given by 15 persons.) 

chamfer — the tree from which camphor gum is obtained : this is the 
simplified spelling of it ( !). (The confusion with camphor was found in 
4 papers. ) 

clearing-house — a sale that takes place when a store wishes to dispose 
of its stock (clearing sale) : a place where clearing papers are given to 
vessels to enable them to leave the iiarbor (customs house -j- clearing of 
vessels): picking up everything to move; taking everything out of a 
house : a place used by express companies to sell uncalled-for goods : a 
house where goods are made ready to be delivered. 

cotangent — name of one of two tangents drawn to a circle from the 
same point without the circle: one lying alongside of (contingent): 
straight line drawn to touch a circle at one point (tangent). 

dibble — to get just a smattering of some subject, as to dibble in medi- 
cine or politics (dabble) : to do with divided interest (dawdle). 

dryad — a priest of early English times (druid). 

entree — first course at a banquet, usually soup : something in the way 
of food, new and out of season : when the waiter brings in a new course 
it is called an entre : French for 'to-day" : French for 'between' (entre). 

Eocene — the term applied to one of the early ages of civilization. 

Euclid — a book written by Yergil (JBneid) : name given to certain 
trees (eucalyptus) : an ancient Egyptian who studied geometry: name of 
an avenue in Cleveland, Ohio. 

f-Q4r — means the temperature is 64 degrees above zero, Fahrenheit. 

f. o. b. — cash on delivery (c. o. d) : forward on board. 

golden section — the section of the West most prosperous. 

hydraulic press — a kind of air-pump, rather complicated, operated by 
suction and pressure: a machine for washing dirt from gold or from 
steep slopes (hydraulic mining) : the force with Avhich water flows upon 
or against a thing, as a paddle wheel. ^ •, 

impressionism — when a man imitates the looks or actions of another ; 
the art of exciting an impression. 

infusoria — a chemical herb (infusion?). 



TEST 51 : RAXGE OP INFORMATIOX [^J'"**"*"] 321 

kilogram — the greatest quantity in ttie metric system : Frencli measure 
of distance (kilometer) : Frencli unit of liquid measure: the weight of a 
cube of water whose dimensions are a kilometer. 

Les Miserables — a French tragedy written about the last part of the 
17th century by Racine, one of the famous French Avriters : French work 
written by George Sand, author of Le Diable. 

linotype — the product of a certain method of making i)rints from 
photographs. 

Millet— a blind poet (Milton). 

natural selection — in nature each animal selects its mate, a device for 
building up a stronger race. 

ohm — German word for uncle (OJieiin). 

Polonius — a prominent character in Julius Caesar. 

pomology — the study of the palm of the hand, used by fortune tellers 
(palmistry). 

tort — French word for ugly (tors?). 

triple expansion — the expanding of anything three times its normal 
size. 

Utopia — a silk factory. 

way-bill — a bill that is being considered. 

Zionism — same as Dowieism. 

(4) A comparison of scores made by 18 summer-session 
students, before and after the definition br E of the 100 terms, 
shows the following averages : first marking, D = 20.39, E = 
14.77, F = 18.39, N = 46.44; second marking, D = 19.77, 
E — 20.22, F = 19.55, N = 40.44. So far as these aS''s are con- 
cerned, then, it appears that at first tliev had overestimated 
terms definable and, more particularly, terms unknown. The 
principal effect of i?'s explanations was to increase by about 
() per cent, the number of terms marked as explainable, and to 
decrease by 6 per cent, the number of terms marked as unknown. 

XoTE. — Attention may be called to the suggestive method 
devised by Franken (1), the purpose of which is to test not so 
much the range of information of pupils, but rather the degree 
to Avhich they overestimate their range and the extent to which 
this overestimation may be reduced by proper drill and instruc- 
tion. A series of questions drawn from school work is pro- 
pounded, first in a form that inquires as to the existence of the 
information and that requires merely the answer 'yes' or ^no.' 
After this series has been answered, the same questions are 
given in a second form that demands a specific answer. Ex- 
amples : first form : "Do you knoAv what city is the capital of 
France"? Second form : "What city is the capital of France'"? 
For various ways of conducting tests by these two forms of 



322 [688] INTELLECTUAL EQUIPMENT 

questions the original articles should be consulted. Franken's 
method is in many features more akin to the 'Aussage' test 
(No. 32). 

REFERENCES 

(1) A. Franken, (a) Ueber die Erziehbarkeit der Erinnerungsaussage 
bei Schulkindern. ZPdPs, 12: 1911, 635-042. (&) Aussageversuche nach 
der Metbode der Entscbeidungs- und Bestimmungsfrage bei Erwacbsenen 
u'nd Kinder n. ZAngPs, 6 : 1912, 174-253. 

(2) Laura L. Srnitb, Whipple's range of information test. PsR, 20: 
1913, 517-518. 

(3) G. M. Wbipple, A range of information test. PsR, 16: 1900, 
347-351. 



CHAPTER XIII 

Serial Graded Tests for Developmental Diagnosis 
The omission from this volume of the de Sanctis tests and 
of the Binet-Simon tests demands a brief explanation. The 
reasons that have led to this omission are : first, the extension 
of the material of the preceding pages has brought the volume 
to dimensions already in excess of the original plans ; secondly, 
the number of published investigations bearing upon the Binet 
tests is so enormous (Kohs' bibliography lists 254 titles to June, 
1914) that the proper consideration of so much material de- 
mands more time than can be permitted ; thirdly, the extensive 
use of the Binet tests has given rise to so many variations in 
method of application and scoring that there now exist numer- 
ous issues upon each one of which an authoritative presentation 
must take a definite and justified stand — something which is 
impossible without extensive comparison of the views of various 
writers and resolution of the conflicting views on the basis of 
careful first-hand investigation ; fourthly, there are now avail- 
able a number of pamphlets of directions prepared by compe- 
tent writers (Goddard, Kuhlmann, Schwegler, Terman, Town, 
Winch, et al), so that the need for a Binet handbook that was 
felt when the first edition of this Manual appeared is now suffi- 
ciently met, and it would be only adding confusion to present 
still another version of the tests if it were set forth without 
sufficient justification to claim attention as a standardized 
version. 

It is my hope, however, to issue later a supplementary vol- 
ume that will discuss the rationale of combinations of tests 
into systems, that will deal with the Binet tests in a compre- 
hensive manner, and that will include also other systems of 
tests, such as the de Sanctis tests and the psychological-profile 
method of Rossolimo. In the meantime, the selected references 
that follow will serve to guide the reader to some of the more 
important discussions in English of two of these test-systems. 

[689] 323 



324 [690] DEVELOPMENTAL DIAGNOSIS 

REFERENCES 

(1) J. C. Bell, Recent literature on the Binet tests. JEdPs, 3: 1912, 
101-110. 

(2) C. S. Berry, A comparison of the Binet tests of 1908 and 1911. 
JEdPs, 3: 1912, 444-451. 

(3) H. H. Gocldarcl, (a) The Binet-Simon measuring scale for intelli- 
gence. Revised. TrSc, 8 : 1911. 56-62. ( 6 ) Two thousand normal chil- 
dren measured by the Binet measuring scale of intelligence. PdSe. 18 : 
1911, 232-259. (c) Standard method for giving the Binet test. TrSc. 
10 : 1913, 23-30. 

(4) E. B. Huey, (a) The Binet Scale for measuring intelligence and 
retardation. JEdPs, 1: 1910. 435-444. (6) The present status of the 
Binet scale of tests for the measurement of intelligence. PsBu, 9 : 1912, 
160-168. (c) Backward and feeble-minded children. EdPsMon, 1912. 
Pp. 221. 

(5) S. C. Kohs, The Binet-Simon measuring scale for intelligence: 
an annotated bibliography. JEdPs, 5: 1914, 215-224. 279-290, 335-346. 
(Also sold separately.) 

(6) F. Kuhlmann, (o) A revision of the Binet-Simon system for 
measuring the intelligence of children. Man. Suppl. of JPsAsth. 1 : 1912. 
Pp. 41. (b) Some results of examining a thousand public school chil- 
dren with a revision of the Binet-Simon tests of intelligence by untrained 
examiners. JPsAsth, 18: 1914, 150-179. 233-269. (Also published 
separately. ) 

(7) S. de Sanctis, Mental development and the measure of the level 
of intelligence. JEdPs, 2 : 1911, 498-507. 

(8) R. A. Schwegler, A teachers' manual for the use of the Binet- 
Simon scale of intelligence. (Selected bibliography of 56 titles.) Univ. 
of Kansas, School of Education, 1914. Pp. 56. 

(9) W. Stern, The psychological methods of testing intelligence. 
EdPsMon, No. 13, 1914. Pp. 160. 

(10) L. M. Terman. Suggestions for revising, extending and supple- 
menting the Binet intelligence tests. Intern. Conf. School Hyg.. Buffalo. 
N. Y.. 1913. 

(11) L. M. Terman and H. G. Childs. A tentative revision and ex- 
tension of the Binet-Simon scale of intelligence. JEdPs, 3 : 1912, 61-74. 
133-143, 198-208, 277-289. 

(12) Clara H. Town (translator). A method of measuring the de- 
velopment of the intelligence of young children, by A. Binet and Th. 
Simon. Lincoln, 111., 1913. 

(13) J. E. W. Wallin, (a) Experimental studies of mental defectives. 
A critique of the Binet-Simon tests. EdPsMon, No. 7, 1912. Pp. 155. 
(6) The mental health of the school child. New Haven, 1914. Pp. 463. 



APPENDIX I 

Formulas for Converting Measures (English and Metric Systems) 

Measures of Length Measures of Capacitij 

1 mm. = 0.0394 inch. 1 cu. cm. = 0.061 cu. in. 

I cm. = 0.3937 inch. 1 cu. in. = 1G.4 cu. cm. 
1 m. = 39.37 inches. 

1 in. 1=2.54 cm. Measures of Weiglit 

1 ft — 0.3048 m, 1 gram = 0.035 oz. 

1 Ivg. = 2.204 lbs. 

Measures of Surface 1 oz. = 28.35 g. 

1 sq. cm. = 0.155 sq. in. 1 lb. = 453.59 g. 
1 sq. in. := 6.452 sq. cm. 

APPENDIX II 

List of Abbreviations 

The following abbreviations, save for a fevs^ additions, are identical 
with those recommended and employed in the Zeitschrift fiir angewandte 
Psychologic, V, Heft 5-6, VI, Heft 5-6. 

Am Ant: American Anthropologist (Lancaster, Pa.). 

AmJIns: American Journal of Insanity (Baltimore, Md.). 

AmJPhg: American Journal of Physiology (Boston, Mass.). 

AiiuIPs: American Journal of Psychology (Worcester, Mass.). 

AmJSci: American Journal of Science (New Haven, Conn.). 

AnPs: L'Annee psychologique (Paris). 

ArGsPhg: Archiv fiir die gesamte Physiologic des Menschen und der 
Tiere (Bonn). 

ArGsPs: Archiv fiir die gesamte Psychologie (Leipzig). 

ArPsie) : Archives of Psychology (New York). 

ArPs(f): Archives de Psychologie (Geneva, Switzerland). 

BuAcRoySci: Bulletins de I'Academie Royale des Sciences, des Lettres 
et des Beaux-arts de Belgique (Brussels). 

BerlinKlW : Berliner Klinische Wochenschrift (Berlin) 

BlZb: Biologisches Zentralblatt (Erlangen). 

BrJPs: British Journal of Psychology (Cambridge, England). 

BuSocEtPsEnf: Bulletin de la Societe libre pour letude psychologique 
de I'enfant (Paris). 

ColumMaConEcl: Columbia Contributions to Education (New York). 

ColumWaConPhPs : Columbia Contributions to Philosophy and Psychol- 
ogy (New York). 

DMdW : Deutsche Medizinische Wochenschrift (Leipzig). 

Ed: Education (Boston, Mass.). 

EPd: Die exj)erimentelle Padagogik (Leipzig). 

EdPsMon: Educational Psychology Monographs (Baltimore, Md. ). 

FsPs: Fortschritte der Psychologie und ihre Anwendungen (Berlin). 

InMagScHyg: International Magazine of School Hygiene (Leipzig). 

325 



326 MANUAL OF MENTAL AND PHYSICAL TESTS 

JAntlnst: Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain 
and Ireland (London). 

JEdPs: The Journal of Educational Psychology (Baltimore, Md.). 

JEPd: Journal of Experimental Pedagogy and Training College Record 
(London). 

JNeMeDis: Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease (New York). 

■IPh: Journal of Philosophy, Psychology and Scientific Methods (New 
York). 

JPlig: Journal of Physiology (Cambridge. England). 

JPsAsth: Journal of Psycho- Asthenics (Faribault, Minn.). 

NcileDisMon: Nervous and Mental Disease Monograph Series (New 
York). 

PdPsArb: Padagogisch-psychologische Arbeiten (Leipzig). 

PdSe: Pedagogical Seminary (Worcester, Mass.). 

PdlJb: Paedologisch Jaarboek (Antwerp). 

PhR: Philosophical Review (Lancaster, Pa.). 

PhSd: Philosophische Studien (Leipzig). 

PopSciM: Popular Science Monthly (Garrison, N. Y.). 

PsArh: Psychologische Arbeiten (Leipzig). 

PsBu: Psychological Bulletin (Lancaster, Pa.). 

PsGl: Psychological Clinic (Philadelphia, Pa.). 

PsMon: Psychological Monogi'apbs (Lancaster, Pa.). 

PsR: Psychological Review (Lancaster, Pa.). 

RepComEd: Report United States Commissioner of Education (Wash- 
ington, D. C). 

RMdSuisse: Revue medicale de la Suisse Romande (Geneva, Switzer- 
land). 

RPhF: Revue philosophique de la France et de I'Etranger (Paris). 

RSol: Revue scientifique (Paris). 

Sd: Science (Garrison, N. Y.) 

SdYalePsLab: Studies from the Yale Psychological Laboratory. 

SmAhPdPs: Sammlung von Abhandlungen aus dem Gebiete der pada- 
goglschen Psychologie und Physiologie (Berlin). 

TrSc: The Training School (Vineland, N. J.). 

VnlowaSdPs: University of Iowa Studies in Psychology (Iowa City, 
Iowa). 

ZAngPs: Zeitschrift filr angewandte Psychologie und psychologische 
Sammelf orschung ( Leipzig ) . 

ZBi: Zeitschrift fiir Biologie (Munich). 

ZEPd: Zeitschrift fiir experimentelle Piidagogik (Leipzig). 

ZPdPs: Zeitschrift fiir pMagogische Psychologie und experimentelle 
Padagogik (Leipzig). 

ZPs: Zeitschrift fiir Psychologie (Leipzig). 

ZScGd: Zeitschrift fiir Schulgesundheitspflege (Hamburg). 



APPENDIX III 

List of Materials 

Numerals refer to test-nuiuibers. Items starred refer to materials that 
are recommended, but not prescribed, or to materials for the conduct of 
alternative or supplementary tests. 

The Materials may be ordered of C. H. Stoelting Company. 3047 Carroll 
Ave., Chicago, Illinois, vi^ho will quote prices on application. 

I. SPECIAL APPLIANCES 



Card of objects, Binet's. 32 
Counter, mechanical, 36* 
Demoor suggestion blocks, 40* 
Kymograph drum and stand, 42, 43 
Memory apparatus, Jastrow's, 38* 
Pendulum, seconds', 38* 
Pictorial completion test, Healy's, 

48* 
Pictures (lithographs), Hindoos. 

31 ; Australians, 32 ; Disputed 



Case, 32 ; Washington and 
Sally, 32*; Orphan's Prayer, 
.32* ; card of 13 colored, 38 
Prism, 20-D., 36* 
Seconds clock, 33*, 34*, 35*, 48* 
Suggestion blocks, set of 22, 40 
Warmth illusory, electrical appa- 
ratus for, 44; Guidi's stove, 4-4 
Weights, progressive, set of 15 for 
suggestion, 41 



II. SPECIAL PRINTED FORMS 



Analogies, 3 sets of stimulus cards 
and recording blank, 34A : 
three forms for group tests of 
same, 34A 

Association, 100-word list, 33; see 
Analogies. Controlled associa- 
tion and Kent-Rosanoff test 

Completion test, Ebbinghaus', set 
of 4 forms for, 48 

Computation tests, addition book. 
35; addition problems, 
Schulze's method. 35 ; addition 
problems, 2-place digits, 35 : 
addition problems, 20-place 
digits, 35 ; multiplication prob- 
lems, 35 

Controlled association. 4 sets of 
stimulus cards. 20 each, for 
part-whole, genus-species and 
opposites (2 forms) tests. 34; 
four forms for group tests of 
same, 34 

Fables, set of 8, 49 

Information test, 51 



Ink-blots, set of 20, 45 
Kent-Rosanoff association test. 

33A ; frequency tables for 

same, 33A 
Memory for ideas, 3 test sheets 

(Marble Statue, Cicero and 

Dutch Homestead), 39 
Memory for letter-squares, set of 

10 test-cards and blanks for 

records, 38 
Memory for sentences, 2 test sheets 

of 21 sentences each, 38 
iNIemory-span for digits, set of 42 

test-cards, 38 
Mirror-drawing, 6-pointed star. 36 ; 

set of 6 patterns, 36 
Sentences for completion, 46 
Substitution test-strips (Form A). 

37 ; coverboard with key (Form 

A), 37; test blanks (Form B). 

37; set of 4 test-sheets and 

cardboard key (Form C), 37 
Vocabulary tests, 2 forms, 50 
Word-building. 2 forms for, 47 



327 



328 MANUAL OF MENTAL AND PHYSICAL TESTS 

III. GENERAL APPLIANCES AND MATERIALS 

Alcohol, denatured, 44 Lamps, four 25-watt tungsten, 44 

Cardboard, 36, 37, 42, 43, 46 Matches, 44 

Cigarette, 31 :Metronome, 38 

Cloth, soft black, 40, 41 Mirror, 36 

Cross-section paper, ruled in mm., Stamp, 2-cent, 31 

42 Stop-watch, preferably split-sec- 

Drawing materials, 42. 43 ond, 32-39, 44-48 

Gmnmed letters and figures. Sizes Supports, 36 

5 and 10, 38='= Thumb-tacks, 30 
Lamp, alcohol, 44 



INDEX OF NAMES 



Roman immerals reL'or to test-iuuubers, italicized uuuierals to page- 
iiuiiibers. 



Aall, A., 39 

Abbott, Edwiiia E., 38 

Abelsoii, A. K., 34, 38, 40 

Abt, G., 3G 

Aikins, H. A., 34, 35 

x\llen, F. J., 30 

Anderson, E. J., 38, 47 

Angell, J. Pv., 38 

Ai-ai, Tsuru, 35 

Aschaffenburg, 518 

Ayers, L. F., 50 

Baade, W., 32, 39 

Babbitt, E. H., 50 

Baginskj^ A., 32 

J'alaban, A., 39 

Baldwin, B. T., 37 

Bell, J. C, 589f, 43, 690 

Bellei, 35 

Bentley, M., 38 

Bergstroiu, J. A., 38 

Bernstein, A., 38 

Berry, C. S., 690 

van Biervliet, J., 38, 40 

Bigbam, J., 38 

Einet, A., 31, 32. 33, 38, 39, 41, 42, 

43, 45, 46. 48, 50 
Itingham W. V., .f,.58 
Bischoff, E., 35 
Bogdanoff. T., 38 
Bolton, F. E., 40 
Bolton, T. L., 38 
Bonser, F. G.. 34. 49 
Boring, E. G., 32 
Borst, Marie, 32 
Bourdon, B., 38 
Bovet, P., 33A 
Boyd, W., 50 
Brand, J. E.. 43 
Brenkink, II., 32 
Briggs, T. II.. 34. 34A 
Brown, W., 35, 38, 48 



Brugnians, H., ,38, 39. 47, 48 

Bryant, Sophie, 31, 33A 

Burgerstein, L., 35 

Burnbani. W. H., 38 

Burris, W. P.. 35 

Burt, C, 33, 33 A, 34, 34A, 35, 36, 

38, 46, 48 
Busb, A. D., 50 

Calfee, aiarguerite, 36 
Calkins. Mary W., 33. 38 
Carpenter, D. F.. 34. 37, 38 
Cattell, J. M., 33, 33A 
Chambers. W. G., 34, 35, 38 
Charpentier. A., 40 
Childs, H. G., 48, 49, 50, 690 
Chojecki, A., 42, 44 
Claparede, E., 32, 40 
Claviere, J., 40 
Cohn. J., 3]. 32. 38,48 
Courtis, S. A., 35 

Dallenbach, K., 32 

Daniel, 40 

Dauber, J., 32 

Dearborn, G. V. N.. 45 

Dearborn. W. F., 36, 37 

Dell, J. A.. 39 

T>emoor, 40 

Deseoeiidres, Alice, 31 

Dieffenbacher, J., 31, 32, 38, 48 

Doll, E. A., 40 

Donovan, M. E.. 35 

Downey, June E.. 36 

Dresslar, F. B., 40 

Dupree, E., 32 

Eastman, F. C, 33A 

Ebert.E., 38 

Ebbinghaus. E.. 35, 38, 619, 640, 48 

Elsenhans. T.. 48 

Ephrussi, P., 38 



329 



330 



MANUAL OP MENTAL AND PHYSICAL TESTS 



Fiuzi, J., 38 

Fisclier, Charlotte, 34, 37, 4G 

Flournoy, Th., 33. 40 

rourclie. J. A., 40 

Fox. W. S., 35 

Franken. A., 32, 51 

Friiukl, E., 38 

Fraser. D. K., 48 

Friedrich, J., 35 

P'uclis, H., 38 

Galtou, F., 38 
O; amble, Eleanor, 38 
Gerlancl, U. B., 32 
Glieorgov, I., 50 
Gilbert, J. A., 40 
Girotid, A., 41, 42 
Goddard, H. H., 6S9f 
Goett, T., 33 A 
Gray, C. T., 37 
Gross, H., 32 
Guidi, G., 44 

Ilaggenmiiller. A., 38 

Hall, G. S., 674 

Hawkins, C. J., 38 

Ilealy, W.. 48 

Heck, W. H., 35 

Hegge, T., 32 

Heilig. M. R., 50 

Heindl, R., 32 

Henderson. E. N., 39 

Henmon, V., 38 

Henri, V., 31, 36, 38, 3!). 43. 40, 48 

Heymans, G., 38, 39, 47. 48 

Hill, D. S., 36 

I-follingwortb, H. L.. 34. 35, 40 

Holmes, Marion, 35 

Ilnbbell, Elizabeth, 35 

llney, E. B., 690 

Itscbner, H., 38 

Jacobs, J., 38 
Jaffa, S.. 32 
Jastrow, J., 33. 500 
Johnson, G. E., 38 
Jones, E., 34, 35 
Jones, Grace M.. 43 
Jones, W. F., 38 
Jost, A., 38 
Jndd, C. H., 36 
Jnng, C. G., 33 A 

Kakise, H.. 33A 
Katzen-Elleubogen, E., 35 



Keller, R., 35 
Kelley, T. L., 33A 
Is'emsies, F., 35, 38 
Kent, Grace, 33A 
Kirkpatrick, E. A., 38. 45. 50 
Kline, L. W., 37 
Kohnky, Emma, 37, 38 
Kohs, S. C, 689f 
Kraepelin, E., 409, 35. 38. 48 
Krueger, F., 35, 38, 48 
Kuhlmann, F., 38, 6S9f 

Lapie, P., 38 

Laprade, A., 36 

Largnier des Bancels, J., 38 

Laser, H., 35 

Lay, W. A., 38 

LeOlere, A.. 31 

Levy-Siihl, M., 33A 

Ley, 33A 

Lipniann, O., 32, 48 

Lobsien, M., 32, 38. 48 

Lochte, 36 

Loomis, H. N., 40 

Lough, J. E., 37 

Manchester. Genevieve, 33 

Martin, Gladys, 35 

Martin, Lillien, 40 

Masselon, R., 46 

IMaurer, L., 32 

McDougall, W., 38 

Menzerath. 33A 

Meumaun, E., 33A, 34. 35, 38, 46 

Meyer. M., 48 

?Iichotte. A., 39 

Monroe, W., 31 

Moore, R. C.. 33, 33A. 34. 34A. 35, 

36, 38, 48 
Muller, G. E., 38, 40 
Mtinn, Abbie F., 37 
Miinsterberg, H., 32, 38 

Netolitzky. A., 35 
Netschajeff, A.. 38 
Nevers, Cordelia. 33 
Norsworthy, Naomi, 34, 38 

Oehrn, A., 35 
Offner, M., 35, 38 
Ogden, R. M.. 39 
Okabe. T., 602, 607. 617 
Ordahl. Louise. 35. 36 
Otis, Margaret, 33 A 

Pearce. H. J.. 589 f 
Peterson, H. A., 39 



INDEX OP NAMES 



331 



Phillipe, J., 40 

Pilzecker, A., 38 

cie Placzelv, 32 

Pohlmaim, A., 38 

Portycb, T., 39 

Powelson, Inez, 590 

Pyle, W. H., 33, 34, 37. 3S. 30. 45, 47 

Qnantz, J. O., 38 

Rausy, C, 39 
Keinliold, F., 33A 
Reis, J., 35 
Reutber, F., 38 
Rice, J. F.. 40 
Ries, G., 34 
Ritter, C, 38 
Robinson, L. A., 35 
Roels, F., 33A 
Piosanoff. A. J.. 33A 
Rosauoff, Isabel, 33A 
Rowe, E. C, 36 
Rusk, R. R., 33A, 34 

Saling, Gertrud, 33A 
flc Sanctis, S., 690 
Scbramm, F., 39 
Scbnlze, R., 35 
Scbultz, G., 32 
Scbumann, F., 38. 40 
Scbuyten, M. C, 38 
Scbwegler, R. A., 689 f 
Scott, W. D., 590, 44 
Scripture, E. W.. 40, 44 
Seasbore, C. E., 40, 44 
Segal, J., 38 

Sbarp, Stella, 31, 38, 39, 45, 40 
Sbaw, J. C, 39 
Simon, T.. 50 

Simpson, B. R., 34, 35, .38. 30. 48 
Sleigbt, W. G.. 38 
Small. M. H.. 44 
Smedley, F., 38 
Smitb, Laura L., 51 
Smitb, W. G., 38 
Sommer, 4-0 
Spearman. C. 35. 38. 48 
Specbt, W., 35 

Squire, Carrie R.. 31. 34. 37. 38, 4(!, 
47, 48, 49 



Starcb, D., 35. 3G, 37. 38 
Stern, Clara. 32 
Stern, W., 32, 590, 690 
Strack, M.. 36 
Stratton. G. M., 36 
Strong, E. K., Jr., 33A, 589 f 
Swift, E. J., 49 
Sybel, A. v., 38 

Tanner, Amy, 33 

Teljatnik. 35 

Terman. L. W., 39, 47, 48. 40. 50, 

689f 
Tborndike, E. L., 34, 35 
Titcbener, E. B., 38 
Town, Clara H., 50, 6S9f 
Toulouse, 520 

Vogt, R., 35 
\os, H. B., 39 

^A'allin, J. E. W., 33. 39. 690 

Wasbburn. Margaret F., 590 

Watt, II. J.. 34 

^Veber, 11., 36 

Wegener, H., 36 

Weidensall, Jean, 34, 36, 37. 46 

Wells, F. L., 33A. 34. 34A, 35. 37 

Wertbeimer, M., 48 

Wessely, R., 38 

Wbipple, G. M.. 32. 602. 607, 617, 

47. 6-63. 50, 51 
Wbipple, Mrs. G. M.. 50 
Wiersma, E.. 48 
Wigmore. J. H., .32 

Wincb, W. H., 35, 38, 39, 46, 6S9 

Winteler, J., 33A, 34 

VN'issler, C, 38, 39 

Wolfe, H. K.. 40 

^Voodwortb. R. S.. 33A. 34. 34A. 

35, 37 
Woolley, Helen T., 34. 37. 46 
Wrescbner, A.. 32. 33A 
^Vyatt, S.. 84, 34A, 35. 38, 46, 47. 

48, 49 

Yoakum, C. S.. 36. .38 
Zieben, T., 38A 



INDEX OF SUBJECTS 



For authors quoted, see Index of Names ; for apparatus, see List of 
Materials ; for tables and figures, see indexes following Table of Con- 
tents. 



Abnormal children, see Delinquents 

and Feeble-minded 
Acc-uracy, relation of, to speed, 

see Speed 
xVddition, see Computation 
Age, effect of, on description, 378 
f. ; on report, 399 f. ; on uncon- 
trolled association, 413 ; on 
Kent-Rosanoff test, 426-430 ; 
on part-whole test, 442 ; on 
genus-species test, 444 ; on op- 
posites test, 450; on analogies 
test, 458 f. ; on substitution, 
506 ; on immediate memory, 
541-545 ; on logical memory, 
578 f. ; on size-weight illusion, 
593 f. ; on progressive-weight 
test, 601 ; on progressive line 
test, 606 f. ; on directive sug- 
gestion, 611 f. ; on warmth 
illusion, 617 ; on ink-blot test, 
624; on sentence completion, 
634 ; on inventiou of stories, 
636 f. ; on word-building, 645 ; 
on interpretation of fables, 
669 f. 
Analogies, 455-460, G62 
Apprehension, range of, 383 
Arithmetical tests, see Computa- 
tion and Courtis tests 
Association, tests of, 409-485 ; mi- 
controlled (continuous meth- 
od), 410-419; uncontrolled 
(discrete method), 419-437; 
controlled (logical relations). 
437-455 ; analogies, 455-460 ; 
controlled (computation), 460- 
485 ; see Ink-blots 
Aussage test, see Report 
Ayres' spelling vocabulary, 682 

Backward alphabet test, 454 
Backward children, see Feeble- 
minded and General intelli- 
gence 



Binet-Simon tests, 381, 571 f., 584, 

689 f. 
CafCein, effect of, on computation, 

474 
Card of objects, Binet's, 388-393 
Cicero test, see Logical memory 
Class standing, see General intelli- 
gence 
Completion test, 627, 640, 649-666 
Computation tests, 460-485 
Constant-increment test, 465-468 
Contradictorjr-suggestion test, 608 

ft. 
Correlations, with part-whole test, 
442 ; with opposites test, 453 : 
with computation test, 472 f. ; 
with mirror-drawing, 496 f. ; 
with immediate memory, 565 
f. ; with logical memory, 584 ; 
with progressive-weight test, 
602 ; with progressive-line test, 
607 ; with warmth-illusion, 
618 ; with invention of stories, 
637 ; with development of 
themes, 639 ; with word-build- 
ing, 648 ; with completion test, 
663 f. ; with interpretation of 
fables, 672 
Courtis tests, 462, 481 
Criminals, see Delinquents 

Defective children, see Delinquents, 
Feeble-minded 

Definition test, see Vocabulary test 
and Information test 

Delinquents, performance of. in 
opposites test. 451 ; in mirror- 
drawing, 494 ff. ; in substitu- 
tion, 514 f. ; in sentence com- 
pletion, 634 ; in completion 
test, 662 f. 

Dental treatment, effect of, on sub- 
stitution, 514 ; on memorv for 
digits, 553 



333 



334 



MANUAL OF MENTAL AND PHYSICAL TESTS 



De Sanctis' tests, 689 f. 

Description test, 376-382 

Digit-symbol test, see Substitution 

Directive suggestion, 610 ft. 

Distraction, effect of, on computa- 
tion, 475 ; on immediate mem- 
ory, 559 

Division, see Computation 

Dutch Homestead test, see Logical 
memory 

Ebbingbaus test, see Completion 
test 

Environment, influence of, on lists 
of associations, 418 

Epileptics, performance of, in un- 
controlled association, 413 f. ; 
in letter-span test, 564 ; in 
logical memory, 583 f. 

Fables, see Interpretation of fables 

Fatigue, effect of, on opposites test, 
452 ; on computation, 475-482 ; 
on immediate memory, 552 ; on 
logical memory. 581 f. ; on com- 
pletion test, 659 f. 

Feeble-minded, performance of, in 
association test, 429 f., 433 f. ; 
in part-whole test, 442 ; in 
genus-species test. -144 ; in op- 
posites test. 451 ; in immediate 
memory, 196 ff., with size- 
weight illusion, 594 f. See 
Epileptics 

Franken's question-method, 687 f. 

General intelligence, relation of, to 
report, 400; to Kent-Rosanoff 
test, 431 ft". ; to part-whole 
test, 442 ; to opposites test, 
450 f. ; to analogies test, 459 ; 
to computation, 471 ; to mirror- 
di'awing, 494 ; to substitution, 
512 ff. ; to immediate memory. 
560 ff. ; to logical memory, 582 
f. ; to size-weight illusion, 596 ; 
to completion test. 661 f. ; to 
interpretation of fables, 670 
ff. ; to vocabulary, 680 

Genus-species test, 442 ft". 

Guidi's method for suggesting 
warmth, 614 f. 

Ideational type, effect of, on report, 
403 ; on immediate memory, 
557 f. 
Illusion, see Suggestion 
Imagination, tests of, 619-673 



Immediate memory, see Memory 

Individual differences, in descrip- 
tion, 379 f. ; in giving analo- 
gies, 459 f. ; in computation, 
469 ; in work-curve, 476 f. ; in 
mirror-drawing, 490 f. ; in di- 
rective suggestion, 611 ; in ink- 
blot test, 625 ; in word-build- 
ing, 646 ; in completion test, 
659 ; in vocabulary, 679 f. 

Information test, 683-688 

Ink-blots, 620-626, 630 

Insane, fidelity of report in, 400; 
free association in, 434 ; com- 
putation in, 474 

Instructions, effect of, on Kent- 
Rosanoff test, 434 ff. 

Intelligence, see General Intelli- 
gence 

Interpretation, of fables, 666-673; 
of poetry, 672 ; of pictures, 
673 

Invention, see Imagination and 
Stories, invention of 

Kent-Rosanoff method, see Asso- 
ciation uncontrolled (discrete 
method ) 

Learning, tests of, 409 f., 485-516 
Letter squares, method of, 528 ff. 
Linguistic invention, 626-649 
Lipmann-Wertheimer test, 664 f. 
Logical memory, 571-587 

Marble statue test, see Logical 
memory 

Masselon method, see Sentence foi"- 
mation 

Material-weight illusion, 597 

Memory, tests of, 383, 409 f., 516- 
587 ; for serial impressions 
(rote memory), 516-570; meth- 
ods and material classified, 
517-521; for digits, 521-528: 
for letter squares, 528 ff . ; for 
words, 530-534. 554 f . ; for sen- 
tences, 535 f., 586 ; 'for pictures 
of objects, 536 f. ; for ideas, 
see Logical memory 

Mental ability, see General intelli- 
gence 

Mental work, see Work curve 

Meumann's test, see Memory for 
words and Sentence formation 

Mirror-drawing, 485-499 

Mirror-writing, 497 f. 

Missing-digit test, 482 



INDEX OF SUBJECTS 



335 



Multiplieution, see Computation 
Musical ability, 039 

Negro, see Racial differences 
Norms, for Keut-Rosanoflt" cate- 
gories, 425 f. ; for free associa- 
tion times, 425 f. ; for part- 
whole test, 441 ; for genus- 
species test, 443 f. : for op- 
posites test, 448 f. ; for analo- 
gies, 457 f. ; for computation, 
468 f. ; for mirror-clra\Ying, 
489 f. ; for substitution, 504 ff. ; 
for Immediate memory, 537- 
541 ; for logical memory, 576 
f. ; for size-weight illusion, 
593 f. ; for progressive-weight 
test, 600 f. ; for progi-essive- 
line test, 605 f. ; for illusion 
of warmth, 617 ; for word- 
building, 644 f. ; for completion 
test, 656 f. ; for interpretation 
of fables, 669 ; for vocabulary, 
678 f. 



Opposites test, 445-453 

Paralytics, fidelity of report in, 

400; see Insane 
Part-whole test, 438-442 
Perseveration. 427, 435. 538, 567 
Physical condition, effect of, on im- 
mediate memory, 553 
Pictorial completion test, 665 
Picture tests, 393-397 ; see Descrip- 
tion, Report, Memory 
Pictures, test of titles for, 381 f. 
Practise, effect of, on report, 405 
f. ; on free associations, 431 ; 
on opposites test, 452 ; on com- 
putation, 470 f.. 482 ; on mir- 
ror-drawing, 491-494 ; on sub- 
stitution, 508-512 ; on imme- 
diate memory. 550 ff. ; on logi- 
cal memory. 580 f. ; on size- 
weight illusion, 596 ; on pro- 
gressive-weight test, 601 ; on 
completion test, 659 
Precocity, see General intelligence 
Profile method of Rossolimo. 689 
Progressive-line test. 602-608 
Progressive-weight test, 598-601 

Racial differences, in controlled as- 
sociation. 452 ; in substitution. 
506 ff. ; in immediate memory, 



566; in ink-blot test, 625; in 
word-building, 645 

Range of information, see Infor- 
mation test 

Reliability, coefficient of, in op- 
posites test, 452 ; in analogies 
test, 459 ; in computation test, 
471 f. ; in mirror-drawing, 496 ; 
in immediate memory, 559 ; in 
logical memory, 582 ; in inven- 
tion of stories, 637 ; in word- 
building, 647 f. ; in completion 
test, 663 ; in interpretation of 
fables, 672 

Report, test of, 383-408 

Resistance-wire method, for sug- 
gesting warmth, 613 f. 

Rest-pauses, see Work curve 

Ries' association test, 453 f. 

School grade, relation of, to op- 
posites test, 4.50 ; to computa- 
tion, 469 f.; to ink-blot test, 
624 ; to sentence completion, 
634 ; to range of information, 
684 f. See General intelligence 

Sense-department, effect of, on im- 
mediate memory, 555 ff. ; on 
logical memory. 580 

Sentence formation, Masselon's 
method, 627-630 : jNIeumann's 
method, 6.30 ff. ; Burt's meth- 
od, 631 f. ; Binet's method 
(sentence completion). 632 ff. 

Sex-differences, in description, 378 ; 
in report, 398 f. ; in uncon- 
trolled association, 413, 415- 
418 ; in discrete association 
test, 430 f. ; in part-whole test, 
442 ; in genus-species test. 444 ; 
in opposites test. 450 ; in analo- 
gies test, 459 ; in computation, 
469 ; in mirror-drawing, 491 f. ; 
in substitution. 506 : in imme- 
diate memory. 545-550 ; in 
logical . memory, 579 : in size- 
weight illusion, 595 ; in 
warmth-illusion, 617 ; in sen- 
tence completion. 634 ; in word- 
building. 645 ; in completion 
test, 658 f. ; in vocabulary, 
680 ; in range of information, 
685 

Size-weight illusion. 590-598 

Social status, relation of, to re- 
port. 400 

Span tests, see Memory 

Specht's test, see Computation 



336 



MANUAL OP MENTAL AND PHYSICAL TESTS 



Speed, relation of, to accuracy in 
computation, 473 ; in mirror- 
drawing, 496 
Star-test, see Mirror-drawing 
Stories, invention of, 634-638 
Substitution test, 499-516 
Subtraction, see Computation 
Suggestibility, tests of, 588-618 
Suggestion, by questions, 385 f., 
391, 399, 402 f. ; of line-lengths, 
608-612 ; by illusion of warmtb. 
612-618; see Suggestibility 
Suggestion-blocks, see Size-weight 

illusion 
Symbol-digit test, see Substitution 

Testimony, see Report 



Theme, development of, 638 f. ; 
choice of, 639 

Transfer of practise, in computa- 
tion, 471 ; in mirror-drawing, 
491 fC. ; in substitution, 509- 
512 ; in immediate memory, 
551 f., 581 ; in logical memory, 
637. 

Types, in descriptions, 380' f. ; in 
work-curves, 476 f. : in logical 
memory, 585 f. ; in ink-blot 
test, 625 f. : in sentence com- 
pletion, 633 f. ; in invention of 
stories, 637 f. 

Vs^armth, suggestion of, 612-618 

Word-building, 640-649 

Work-curve, analysis of, 475-482 

Vocabulary test, 640, 674-683 



